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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26328427">The Road to Redemption</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReneeDekobora2042/pseuds/ReneeDekobora2042'>ReneeDekobora2042</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>No Straight Roads (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ballet, EDM - Freeform, Essentially a sequel at this point, Fighting, Gen, I'll try to update, Kawaii Metal, Kawaii Pop, Music, My First Work in This Fandom, My first proper fanfic lol, Probably a little romance at some point, Rock-Rap, Rude words and swear words, Some music to be recommended later on, Synthmetal, Tags get updated as fic goes on, Violence, rock - Freeform, some blood, some suggested ships</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:54:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>104,954</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26328427</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReneeDekobora2042/pseuds/ReneeDekobora2042</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>While getting better from what happened in the past, NSR is still not doing great. Power cuts and blackouts are frequent in Vinyl City, and even with Bunkbed Junction representing the smaller musicians, nothing seems to be changing.<br/>But When Tatiana proposes an idea to get Vinyl City back on track and with more power than ever, the duo and the NSR artists are horrified at the suggestion.<br/>Little do they know, NSR and Vinyl City never had much choice in the matter. </p><p>Set just after the ending of No Straight Roads, but before Vinyl City is producing lots of power.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>325</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>600</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A new road to take</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>My first time writing in a long time, but the lack of No Straight Roads fanfiction is horrible!<br/>Please enjoy! And let me know what you thought in the comments!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>NSR had gotten better since… the fiasco that happened with Bunkbed Junction. While still in control of Vinyl City, the company had become far more open and understanding to fans of all types of music. Smaller bands were busking and performing on side streets, open venues were accepting anyone who signed up to play, and collabs between musicians were massively on the rise. NSR themselves were even more accepting of alternative ideas for improving the city, especially since even with more groups playing, the power levels had barely moved an inch. The quantity of power cuts had decreased, but the fact they were still happening wasn’t good on anyone’s behalf.</p><p>“May, hurry up, we’re gonna be late again.”<br/>
“I am! I am! Just give me a second!”</p><p>Zuke rolled his eyes as he stood leaning against the wall in the Burger Shack starring at Mayday who she herself was starring at the overhead screen waiting for her order number. Her eyes were darting back and forth between her receipt and the slowly appearing numbers. They were late, and May knew that; they should have been at the meeting around 5 minutes ago, and last time Tatiana wasn’t thrilled with them showing up part way through.<br/>

Bunkbed Junction still wasn’t part of NSR; Zuke and Mayday both agreed they could never properly sign on to the company after what happened, especially when they had no idea how to really help or how to take care of a district should they get one. But they did agree that supporting NSR by keeping up with things that were happening within the company and giving the general public a voice was the best option. After all, within all the artists in the meeting, they were the smallest.</p><p>“Oh Oh! It’s me! It’s me!” Mayday pounced forward towards the counter to grab her food. </p><p>“Finally, Now let’s get going! We’re 6 districts away from the tower, and I don’t plan on driving through traffic”. </p><p>Zuke hastily strolled out of the shack with Mayday devouring a cheese-drenched burger in tow. They were currently in Festival Plaza, and with the NSR Tower in the distance, Zuke could already feel the frustration from Tatiana all the way over.<br/>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br/>
“Tatiana, I don’t think we should wait any longer. We are only delaying time that we can discuss our next actions” Eve starkly said as she closed the 23rd Magazine that she had featured on the cover of.</p><p>Tatiana sighed. “I do appreciate some other input, but if this keeps happening I-”</p><p>The doors to the office flung open, the rock duo bounding in. “We’re here! Sorry we’re late, we had some…” Zuke looked at May with a mouth full of fries. “hunger issues”.<br/>
DJ Subatomic Supernova chuckled, eyeing the food May was struggling to cram into her mouth. “Imagine having to purchase such… inferior food. Only the finest in quality food for myself, and I can tell you-” He pointed a finger at the food bag. “That certainly isn’t it”.</p><p>May glared back at him, though hardly looking serious or threatening in anyway towards the DJ with stuffed chipmunk cheeks.</p><p>Tatiana shook her head. “Just make sure it doesn’t happen again, we’re wasting precious time that could be spent creating ideas to help the city. Now sit, and we shall begin”.<br/>
Mayday and Zuke took their seats at the rounded table where the other artists sat. Almost all of them were present, with only Sayu or her creators not making it. Mayday and Zuke had only been in the office twice before, but the sheer size of it was something to behold. Towering walls adorned with gold records and vinyls from the many artists associated with NSR, a pale grey carpet sprawled beneath their feet to match Tatiana’s serious and stern attire, and an equally stern and sophisticated oak desk at which Tatiana took her seat ready to discuss with the group. </p><p>The projector on the table flashed to light, displaying some charts and bars and graphs on a nearby empty wall. “Now that everyone is here, we can discuss the matter at hand, as well as-” She paused. “A small development in NSR’s leadership and running”. This raised the eyebrows of everyone in the room, but Tatiana continued none the less. “With the recent increase of music being produced and played, we have seen a slight increase in power”. She pulled out a laser pointer and indicated to a bar chart. “However, the word ‘increase’ seems redundant. We have only seen a 2% increase from when we changed our policies. While the blackouts are happening less, the fact they’re still happening is not good for both the NSR name and the public”. She touched her fingers to her temple. “Along with that, the new district that we’re building for smaller artists will help with that issue, but we have been informed that the project is both delayed and lacking funding now, so we have moved one step forward, and two steps back”.</p><p>“Could we not have more concerts?” Yinu spoke, her mother holding her daughter on her lap. “If we need more power, surely we just need to play more.”</p><p>Neon J tutted. “If it was that easy, we wouldn’t be in this issue”. He sighed. “I’ve had my boys doing multiple concerts at once around Vinyl City, and even that isn’t helping. Not to mention their constant use is causing them to break more, and it gets to a point where it becomes expensive.” He turned to Supernova. “Didn’t you think of the Satellite idea? Can’t you do something like that again?”</p><p>Supernova chuckled. “You couldn’t comprehend the work and knowledge that went into that satellite. To conjure my brilliance again when I’m already so busy with other projects will be nothing short of a miracle”. He leant forwards towards Neon J. “And my miracles. Take. Time.”</p><p>“I would not rely on a buffoon like yourself to do another satellite again anyway.” Eve retorted, looking up from examining her nails. “You sent the thing up, then lost your district. And the satellite barely did anything to help. And yet you claim it to be brilliance.” </p><p>Supernova stood up from his seat with a sharp stand, clearly irritated. “Now listen here you prissy Madonna, I-”. Tatiana raised her hands. “Enough. Causing discourse between us will not help our situation. Besides-” She stood from her desk, arms folded behind her back, and took a deep sigh. “We might have a sort of solution to our issue. But sacrifices must be made.”</p><p>Zuke glared. Sacrifices didn’t sound good for the indie and smaller side of music, and it wasn’t like NSR hadn’t abandoned them before for the sake of their bigger artists. Putting people other than themselves first wasn’t common for the company. “What kind of sacrifices?” He chimed.</p><p>Tatiana looked at Zuke, then pressed a button on a controller to change what was being projected. The picture changed to a logo, one Zuke hadn’t seen before. The logo was fancy, with swirls and small crystals at the ends of letters. A teal blue illuminated the lettering, fading into a navy blue towards the end. It read ‘Estallia Corporation’. It certainly didn’t ring a bell to him. Looking around the table, it was clear he wasn’t alone in not knowing what this was.</p><p>“This here is the Estallia Corporation” Tatiana elaborated. “While lesser known here, Eastern way they are one of the largest music enterprises to produce power. There certainly isn’t any blackouts where they are in charge.” She flicked to another screen, this one displaying the silhouettes of various artists; and in the centre stood a broad-shouldered man with pale blue skin and perfectly styled hair. He wore a white shirt, with black trousers and a black waistcoat to match, with a dark blue tie completing his look in the centre of his chest. Tatiana continued. “and this is Luthor Bajingan. He’s the head of the corporation, having married into the Elisié family to inherit the company. A businessman at heart. He has taken the company further than ever before”. She chuckled. “And certainly further than NSR has ever accomplished”.</p><p>Mayday swallowed her last bite of food. “What does this have to do with NSR?”.</p><p>Neon J nodded. “While this is exciting to learn about, I hardly see how comparing ourselves to another power company will solve our problems”.</p><p>Tatiana took a deep breathe in, then released. “Comparing ourselves, no, that will not do anything. However, Mr Bajingan has contacted me recently about the issue we seem to be in, and what will help is this”. She pulled out a piece of paper from a draw in her desk and showed the paper to the musicians at the table.</p><p>“OOOOO, what’s that?” Mayday questioned. “ </p><p>“This is a contract from the Estallia Corporation. This will solve a lot of our problems, if not all of them.” She said, her face falling to a frown.</p><p>Eve stood up. “Hold on now, you mentioned sacrifices. Just what exactly does that contract say? If they were just going to fix our problems, surely it would not require anything to be scrapped or thrown away”.</p><p>Tatiana looked at her, then back at the contract. “It is true, I said there will be sacrifices. But to secure our districts and save our city, I believe that-” She choked up slightly, taking a deep breathe. “I believe that taking this offer will be the best for NSR, the people and the music”.</p><p>The artists were on the edge of their seats now. She was clearly darting around the question Eve posed. Mayday was concerned. “Tatiana. What does the contract say.”</p><p>Tatiana turned to the artists. She raised her head high and squared her shoulders, the businesswoman more apparent in her appearance than ever before. She readied herself for what was to come. </p><p>“The terms of this contract are that we will have full support from the corporation and all its resources and inventory at our disposal. The contract states that they almost guarantee that we will have at minimum a 20% increase in power to all districts, meaning no more blackouts and no lack of power to concerts anywhere in Vinyl city. But…” she trailed off.</p><p>Zuke stood up from his chair, preparing for the worst news for the littler performers of Vinyl City. “But what.”</p><p>Tatiana sighed. “But in order to get this support, we must sell NSR to the Estallia corporation, and with it, our control over the districts and everything NSR owns”</p><p>Naturally, everyone was gobsmacked.</p><p>“WWWWHHHHHHHHAAAAAATTTTTTTT!!!!!!!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Avenue of agreement</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Umm, so I didn't expect people to like it much. Thank you! This chapter is a little short because I started writing till things REALLY go down and realised that it was a massive chapter and I hadn't even finished it yet, so I split it into 2 parts. Next chapter should be when things start.<br/>Word of warning, uploads will eventually slow because I have a language degree to study for lol. But for the moment, before lectures start again, I'm trying a chapter a day!<br/>Also, I'm trying to make puns in the chapter titles so that they relate to things like streets and roads etc. Let's see how long that lasts lol.<br/>Please enjoy and let me know what you thought! The comments and Kudos really helped me get back into loving writing again!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“WHHHHHHAAAAATTTTTTT!!!!!” The artists cried, completely outraged by the suggestion of giving up everything they had worked hard for. They were clearly distressed; Yinu had hugged her mother close, Supernova had fallen from his chair, Neon J’s monitor had glitched and Eve’s hair had fallen out of its usual perfect form. The rock duo too had been enraged, giving each a look of worry.</p><p>Eve sauntered over to Tatiana. “With all due respect Tatiana, this is outrageous; even if it is a good idea.” The others voiced their agreement.</p><p>Tatiana nodded. “If I am honest, I agree with you,” She said, turning to look out the window of her office and gazing at the city. “I would never want to sell this company. After all, if I agree to this, I lose my job and my influence over what is being produced within Vinyl City. There’s even a possibility that the city would crumble under the Estallia Corporation; our ways are much different to how they run.”</p><p>Mother kissed her daughter’s forehead and spoke up. “If you know the risks, why risk it? No… we’re not doing great at the moment, but there isn’t a possibility of losing what we love where we are right now,” She pulled Yinu closer. “I would hate for Yinu to lose what her father inspired her to do”.</p><p>Tatiana turned back to the group, her features displaying thoughtfulness. “I understand your concerns, truly. But do understand that it is more myself who is at risk than you all. Being musicians with such high notoriety and status, you could easily get accepted by the corporation should they not take you the moment we hand over leadership.”</p><p>“But…” Mayday interjected. “It wouldn’t be the same. Even if we’re not a part of NSR like the rest of you, to still have the option of working with NSR, especially now that your ideas have changed, is relieving.” Her face fell. “And not just for us, for all future artists. At least with NSR we know the process of signing on is fair now.” She pointed towards the projection. “We have no idea if they’re going to be the same.”</p><p>Tatiana raised her hands. “I know. I have not accepted this offer yet because of all these reasons, and more worries come to mind every day. I had no intention to take it without at least consulting all of you.” She walked around her desk and placed the contract in the centre of the table. “The contract is open to you for reading, though there isn’t anything on here that I have not said, and there appears to be no hidden clauses or conditions within it”. She stared at the contract for a while in silence, then addressed the group. “Since this decision is so big, I suggest a vote. Though Sayu isn’t here to vote, I have sent them the details of the matter, and being young artists, I can already imagine their reply. But doing a vote with all of us present here will help to form a decision.”</p><p>The artists composed themselves and sat back down in their seats. Tatiana cleared her throat. “All those that oppose the signing of the contract, and therefore giving the property of NSR and everything that we own to the Estallia Corporation, please raise your hands.” </p><p>Bunkbed Junction hastily raised their hands, followed shortly by the rest of the artists. A unanimous vote; save for Tatiana.</p><p>She sighed. She expected as much. “I see no point in asking if anyone agrees to signing the contract, it seems pretty clear your ideals. Very well,” She picked up the contract and placed it back in her desk. “We will not accept their offer as of current. I will contact Mr Bajingan and inform him of our decision. NSR will stay independent and I will attempt to find alternative ideas to help this city stay afloat. In the meantime-” She began to walk towards the door. “Perhaps discuss with people who are signed under you, or even the public should you have contact with them. Any suggestion is worth looking into-” She paused. “Within reason, of course.”</p><p>The artists nodded in agreement as Tatiana left her office, leaving the musicians to themselves.</p><p>Supernova scoffed. “I certainly wouldn’t mind the resources for my projects, but to possibly lose the chance of people watching my spectacular performances… It’s absurd.” He stood up from his chair and began to stroll out the office, stopping before the door. “I personally am too busy and refined to discuss such matters with others, so I will propose that you all come up with something. My superior brain shall be used for more superior things. Should you want to hear my knowledge, I’ll be doing my podcast in my personal studio.” He turned and left, Mayday responding to his leaving by blowing at raspberry at the door.</p><p>“He’s just afraid to admit that he has no ideas either.” Mayday said. “Come on Zuke, let’s go and actually get some suggestions, maybe we can try Gigi or something.” They began to walk out, but Eve stopped them. </p><p>“Wait a moment you two. Do NSR a favour and talk with Team Sayu about this. You have much more free movement than the rest of us, and while we have not thought of anything, the team that uses power and tech more than any of us-” She looked at Neon J, who was on his phone texting. “And does not have a superiority complex would be the perfect people to discuss things with.”</p><p>Zuke raised an eyebrow. “Yeah umm, sure. What will you do? Surely you have connections you can talk with.”</p><p>She nodded. “I will be having an art gallery exhibition this afternoon; I can discuss the problem with people when I am there. I wish you both good luck” She sauntered out the door, colourful shawl swaying as she exited.</p><p>“Mr Robot, can you teach me again please? I like your home schooling; you make it fun!” The duo turned to see Yinu tugging at Neon J’s coat, causing him to look up from his phone. He glanced at the rock duo, almost appearing worried, then back at Yinu. They watched as he sighed, and then chuckled, putting his phone away and reaching a hand out to tussle Yinu’s hair. “Hey, if it’s okay with your mother.” He raised his head to look at her, a smile appearing on her face. She nodded softly. “If you do not have anywhere to be, I do not see why not”. Neon J checked his phone quickly, confirming the status of all the 1010 bots that were currently performing. “My army will be fine on their own for a bit”. He stood up from his seat, holding a hand out to Yinu, which she took, and began to walk out the room with mother following close behind. He paused as he got to Bunkbed Junction, jabbing a finger in their direction. “We don’t talk about this to anyone, got it?”. Zuke put his hands up in defence, while Mayday zipped her mouth shut. He nodded to them and left, mother closing the door behind them.</p><p>“Awww…. I didn’t expect him to be sweet like that. He’s mostly an ass to everyone else.” Zuke grunted an agreement. “ Soooooooooooo…. What are we doing again?” Mayday questioned.</p><p>Zuke face palmed. “We’re going to see Team Sayu.”</p><p>“Right!” She pointed her guitar head dramatically forward, striking a powerful pose to match. “To Akusuka!” </p><p>Our duo set off down the tower and on their way to their mission for the day. Though the contract had been bought up, the page lay resting in the desk of Tatiana without a signature placed upon the black line printed at the bottom of the page. Surely that was it right? They had voted and rejected the option that was proposed, it was just thinking of ideas to get NSR back on track… Right?</p><p>None of them would know how futile their vote was, for a power so strong was already prepared to take what they considered was theirs.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The path to darkness</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, in this chapter, there's lots of references to Japanese culture or Japanese things in general; if you're interested I recommend looking it up! It's interesting stuff to look at!<br/>This is turned out to be long, but super hype because now I can get into the cool stuff of the story.<br/>As always, please enjoy! and let me know what you thought!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mayday still wasn’t a big fan of anything that wasn’t rock, but the high pitched, energetic music of Akusuka was growing on her somewhat. It had a nice beat to dance to, and along with Sayu’s cute appearance (curtesy of Remi) and Tila’s amazing vocals, it certainly made walking through the bright lights and bustled streets that more tolerable.</p><p>While each district was specific in some way, Akusuka always stood out as the most impressive and probably the strangest one. It didn’t have the artistry of Dreamfever, the freshness of Natura or the sophistication of Cast Tech, but something always made visiting here special. Perhaps the colours that bounced off of all the buildings and sidewalks like stars illuminating a night sky, or even the truly unique fashion sense of the people living there; with both their regal and intricate traditional clothes and their bold, daring puffy skirts and cat ears. Even if you weren’t living there, people would come to see it from miles around; it was always one of the biggest tourist spots of Vinyl City. It had everything from little things like photo ops with cosplayers, to big things like a water park with several hologram stations built into it so you could feel like you were swimming with Sayu herself. What made it so special is that it was made for basically everyone to like. If the music wasn’t your thing, there would be some entertainment or some food or some sights that you would like instead. </p><p>‘Yeah, that was probably it’ Mayday thought. The food - She couldn’t deny that the seafood curry was delicious.</p><p>“Right, so where do they work again?” Zuke asked Mayday. “I know you text them sometimes… or well, you text Tila about 100 times a day about whatever 1010 album is coming out. Didn’t know if she ever mentioned where they have their set up.”</p><p>Mayday gasped dramatically, feigning being hurt by Zuke’s words. “I DON’T TEXT HER THAT MUCH ABOUT THEM!” She pulled out her phone, checking the quantity of messages she had between herself and Tila. She had a look of horror on her face for a second, then looked up to Zuke; a small embarrassed laugh emerging from her mouth and a blush creeping on her face. Zuke sighed. He wasn’t angry with her, just disappointed.</p><p>Her fingers scrambled over the screen as she searched for any information about where they work. After maybe 5 minutes and Zuke making the decision to grab a drink from a nearby Happi-Pop vending machine, Mayday found the text. “Got it! She says their studio is on Massugu road and that we won’t be able to miss it.” She looked up at Zuke. “Probably has a big sign with cute characters on it or something”.</p><p>Zuke rolled his eyes. “Yeah, not like everything here has big signs with cute characters on.” He said sarcastically. “Which way?”</p><p>Mayday messed with her phone a little more before pointing in the direction where large crowds of tourists and commuters were bustling around. “That way!”</p><p>They went on their way, muttering small apologies - “sorry!”, “excuse me!” - as they waded through the busy streets of Akusuka. It was hardly like the quantity of people in Akusuka was new to the two of them, but they didn’t think anyone could ever get used to squeezing through the limbs and bodies of the people in the district.</p><p>Eventually they pulled themselves out the crowds into a relatively small road with only a few people milling about. Taking a sigh of relief to be free from the chaos, they began searching for the studio. Massugu road was strangely quaint compared to the rest of the district. It was as they feared; everything was displayed in big signs with cute characters and neon lights, but instead of big sponsorships, they were signs for small shops and restaurants run by families, little businesses like B&amp;B’s, and simple sweet shops that had varieties of products to offer. </p><p>Eventually they paused in front of a sign which had little fish and wave drawings patterned on to it. I looked like any other building in the area, except this one had Koinobori waving on a flagpole outside it, despite not being Tango No Sekku or Children’s Day. Along with that, a beautifully painted mural of an underwater scene was displayed on the outer wall of the first floor, with a hanging poster of The Great Wave by Hokusai displayed in the window.  </p><p>Zuke laughed and turned to Mayday. “You think this might be it? I’m not sure of course, I’m just getting some hints that it might be.” He joked. Mayday laughed with him before walking up to the door and pressing the metallic pink and white doorbell.</p><p>They stood waiting for a while, then heard some scrambling and panicking from the upper floor. They heard a variety of locks moving behind the door before it opened to Sofa looking out of breath and ragged. They waited as he caught his breath and addressed the duo. “Mayday and Zuke? What are you doing here?” He spluttered.</p><p>“Oh, we we’re asked to talk with you about the power situation. Tatiana should have sent you something about it.” May responded.</p><p>“WHO IS IT?!” Shouted a nasally male voice, prior to Remi sticking his head out from the upper floor. “MAYDAY AND ZUKE!” Sofa shouted back, leading to Remi coming down the stairs to join him. “Hey guys, what’s the problem?” He asked.</p><p>“Power talk. Tatiana email.” Zuke shortened. Mayday interjected with “We aren’t interrupting you with anything, are we?”</p><p>Remi shook his head. “Currently no. We ARE streaming, but it’s a dance break, so only Dodo is doing something.” He gestured inside the building. “Why don’t you come in? We have a little while to talk before we all have to get back to work.” Mayday glanced at Zuke who just shrugged his shoulders in a sort of ‘I guess so’ manner. They let Remi and Sofa lead the way up the stairs, past various other rooms that they assumed were bedrooms since each had one of their names on; designed wonderfully by Remi of course. They eventually reached a large room that was familiar to them, since they had crashed into it when hijacking their concert. </p><p>The room was basic. Simple white walls with few decorations save for some black sound proofing arranged in a cross pattern, a few cupboards with boxes on top and a long desk which was attached to the wall. The desk was decorated with several computer monitors, ranging in sizes and stretching up to the ceiling, as well as multiple sets of keyboards and headsets, each designed for the person who owned them. The main thing that stood out in the room was the huge computer in the corner; green lights flashing, fans whirring, and wires sprawled everywhere. Understandable though, Sayu and her world weren’t exactly easy to process. </p><p>In the room, Tila sat on a Sayu-coloured gaming chair, drinking from a Pocari Sweat bottle and watching Dodo, who on the other side of the room was dancing to an upbeat, remixed Pop song. His moves certainly didn’t match his appearance, with them being cutesy and gentle, but they certainly matched Sayu, who they could see was portraying his moves in her digital world on one of the monitors. On another screen, they could see the watchers were loving it; glowstick emotes and cheers of encouragement filling up chat. The Kura Kura Streaming Hub was big with the youth and so was Sayu, so naturally there would be lots.</p><p>Tila caught a glimpse as the small group entered the room, her eyes widening when seeing Mayday and instantly pouncing on her. “DID YOU SEE THE POST THEY MADE ON SHORTSNAP?!”. May gasped from excitement. “NO! SHOW ME SHOW ME!”. Tila pulled out her phone, her case a pink kitten with the word ‘にゃ－’ (Nyaa) at the bottom, to show her the picture which they both proceeded to freak out over.</p><p>Meanwhile, Remi, Sofa and Zuke had made their way over to the desk, the younger boys taking their seats and Zuke leaning against the desk. Sofa pulled up the email that Tatiana sent on his monitor. “We read it this morning,” he said. “It’s stupid, I didn’t think Tatiana would go that low.” Remi turned to Zuke. “What happened in the meeting?” He asked.</p><p>Zuke scratched the back of his head. “Well, we took a vote on it and it was unanimously against the idea. I take it you would have done the same?” The boys nodded. “She figured as much. No one had any ideas about how to help the situation. Don’t suppose you have any ideas?”</p><p>Remi and Sofa looked at each other and smiled. Remi’s glasses shined white as he proceeded to push them up and then jump on his monitor. After furious amounts of clicking, eventually indicated to Zuke to come look. He did so, with the girls finally finished staring at 1010 pics joining him. </p><p>“OOOOOOO…… What is it?” May asked. On the screen was a blueprint for a device. It was small and box shaped, with a long pole coming out of the smaller ends and a scale bar in the centre of its face. Around the main design was lots of writing in various languages, and drawings of wires, buttons, circuit boards and lots of things that neither Zuke nor Mayday really understood.</p><p>“I like to call this Project Denwa. It’s a power storer and a power saver essentially.” He clicked off the blueprint and pulled up a 3D simulation which had a model of the project, along with little Zuke and Mayday figures modelled with it. “Allow me to show how it works. We used your likeness since we were able to scan you whilst you were crashing our concert, and you did well to power up the Qwasa in the Lights Up Audition.” He pressed a button on the keyboard and the little Bunkbed Junction began to play. As they played, the bar on the device began to fill, until it reached to a marker named “maximum overdrive”. </p><p>“Okay, so it’s a little Qwasa. How does that help?” Zuke questioned. </p><p>“The format is similar to that of a Qwasa generator, except the aftermath of that energy is different.” He pulled up a modelled skyscraper, something close to what would typically be in the centre of Akusuka. He attached the device to the building and then pressed play on this simulation. Bunkbed Junction watched as the tower lit up, fully illuminated in the 3D world, every light on in every room. He then gestured to the device, which even though it was powering the building, was still at basically maximum capacity.</p><p>They were amazed. Such a small device had done something incredible and unheard of, even if only in a simulation. “Is this really possible? This could help with the power problem so much!” Mayday praised.</p><p>“Well…” Remi swivelled around to address them. “Theoretically, it could work. Obviously, none of us are engineers or technicians; we’re only basing it over the work we’ve done with Sayu and mods we have done to our computer”. </p><p>Dodo finished dancing as the song played its final melody. He looked over at Tila who was already turning on her microphone; and already knowing what to do, he struck a cute pose. Tila spoke, her modified voice coming out of the speakers. “Thank you so much! You’re so kind! Huhuhu!” She looked over at the rock duo in the room, then back to the screen. “We’re going to take a small break before coming back with even more love!” The chat cried out in joy. “This is your reminder to stay hydrated, each some delicious shellfish and always remember to…” Dodo got in position to do the thing he always loved to do. “Love Love Sayu Pyuuuuuuu!” They finished it off by pressing a button to change the stream to a still image with Sayu posing in a love heart shape and the words ‘Coming back soon’ displayed. </p><p>Dodo took a sip of his Ramune, then spoke. “’I’ve tried to build a smaller version with the help of Sofa, but we can’t seem to get it to work. And we didn’t want to send it to Tatiana without any chance that it would work.” </p><p>Mayday snorted. “Are you kidding?! Your best option is to send it to Tatiana! If anyone can get the right people on it, it’s the head of NSR!”. </p><p>The Sayu team looked down. “But…. What if…” Mayday threw up her arms. “No. No. Shush”. She turned Remi’s chair around so he was facing the computer, and grabbed his hand and placed it on his mouse. “Take your simulation and design, stick it in an email, and let it go!” Remi stared at the blueprint, then looked to his friends. He received shrugs and nods from them; If he were certain anyone would have his back, it would be them.</p><p>He opened the emails, clicked on ‘create new’ and addressed it to Tatiana. He then found the files of the blueprint and the simulation on his computer and dragged them into the email. He clicked on his keyboard, writing out a message for Tatiana about the creation they had developed. Once he was finished, he took a deep breath – inhale, then exhale – then looked to the Team again. Smiles and nods from them all.</p><p>Finally! An idea to help NSR; to help Vinyl City! If it works, it could change the course of Vinyl City for the better. And Team Sayu would never have to worry about their live shows or concerts again!</p><p>He moved his mouse towards the send button, and raised his finger to click-</p><p>The room fell into darkness, all the displays fading to black. A power cut.</p><p>The whole room groaned in anger and frustration. </p><p>“Come on! We we’re so close! This is just cruel!” Cried Sofa. The room lit up slightly a few moments later from Tila, Zuke and Dodo turning on their phone lights. Zuke sighed. “Well, I guess we’re waiting till the power is back on then.”</p><p>Mayday was pacing around the room, mumbling under her breath. The cry followed by the thud informed everyone that she had tripped over; Zuke’s light illuminating her on the floor, face down. He offered her a hand to help her up, which she took begrudgingly.</p><p>“Are there any reports of when we’ll be ready to go again?” Remi asked in the darkness. Tila and Dodo were already checking sites and social media for any news.</p><p>A small silence past before Tila broke it. “Umm…. Guys? We have a problem” Everyone turned to look in her direction. She showed the thread she had found on Chirp, a constant stream of posts about the blackout. “It’s not just here. Everywhere has gone out. The whole of Vinyl City is in darkness!”</p><p>The room gasped from shock. “That’s impossible!” Zuke said, taking Tila’s phone out of her hand to check. “What? We’ve never been this bad before! And there’s backup generators in some areas! How can it all just be down?”</p><p>Worry filled the room. Something was clearly off. Even if NSR was doing it again, they were in a main district! The power here shouldn’t have gone off. And for the entire city to fail? It was unheard of.</p><p>The monitors flashed to light again, a static screen playing over them all. And yet, they still sat in darkness; the lights weren’t on, only the screens.</p><p>“Umm…. What’s going on?” Tila asked, worry playing in her voice.</p><p>As if on cue, the screens changed to a video of Tatiana’s office. Except, Tatiana was no where to be found, same for the gold vinyls that were on the walls when Mayday and Zuke were last there; in fact, any remnants of this being Tatiana’s office were gone. The only thing left in the office was…</p><p>“People of Vinyl City. It has come to my attention that you are struggling to keep hold of what you consider to be yours. Your Qwasa, your concert halls, your districts… they are all struggling and in pain from this egotistical and selfish company called ‘NSR’. They can’t support you; they can’t even give you what you need to become better musicians. They won’t even give you a chance.”</p><p>The figure walked around the desk and sat on its counter-top, a smirked emblazoned on their face.</p><p>“Well, that’s about to change.  We are here to help you. We’re not like NSR, we’re better, bolder and quite frankly,” He cleared his throat. “We’re far more brash than they are.”</p><p>Mayday shook her head. “But… we never agreed to…”</p><p>He continued. “As far as we see it, Vinyl City shouldn’t be governed as it is now, a much better way to sort things is by leaning into the music that makes Vinyl City fit its name. So, we propose a fight for the fittest. We will continue to keep the power off, since if I’m being honest, you are a lost cause. But here at the Estallia Corporation, we will take the best of the best of you to luxury and freedom.”</p><p>Luthor looked directly at the camera, a sinister look showing in his eyes.</p><p>“We will station our very best artists in each of your most important districts. Should you consider yourself talented enough, I offer the option of challenging them. Those who succeed, will be taken away from Vinyl City towards a better life. No more Vinyl City.”</p><p>He chuckled. “If you don’t consider yourself talented enough…” He laughed. “I suggest getting some candles perhaps? Can’t do anything in the dark now, can you? Luthor Bajingan, signing off.”</p><p>The screens faded to black again, and they were alone in the room once more.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>My song recommendation for this chapter (and what Dodo was dancing to lol) is 'Cant Make A Song!!! feat. Hatsune Miku (Osanzi Remix). I personally don't like the original too much, but you can't seem to find the remix on YouTube, so I recommend checking out the original!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Biggest Roadblock</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you all for your kinds words! I woke up this morning and read all the comments and started to cry. I've never received so much praise and support before, for kinda anything.<br/>I will apologise, but I'm going to have to change the upload schedule to every other day lol. While I can get a chapter out each day, I'm essentially spending the entire day just writing and, if I'm honest, even though I don't have lectures currently, I should probably still study for my degree; Japanese is hard work lol.<br/>Also, I want to write No Straight Roads one shots but, I don't have any ideas. So if you have any suggestions or any ships you want doing, let me know!<br/>Also Also, for people that it matters to, there is a naughty word (Pi**ed) in this chapter. Just thought I'd warn people for those it concerns; I don't have an issue, but I don't want to be insensitive for people that do.<br/>But anyway, long opening over, Please enjoy and tell me your thoughts!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They were alone in the room once more.</p><p>Mayday’s face fell into his hands. “But we said no! We never agreed to sign it! Did Tatiana do it behind our back or something? How could she!”</p><p>Zuke put his arms around May, consoling her. “Look, maybe we can sort this. If we go and talk to Luthor about the whole thing, he’ll understand… maybe…” He didn’t have to shine his torch around the room to see the looks of doubt on everyone’s faces. </p><p>“I doubt it, but I think that’s a better plan than anything else right now.” Dodo proposed. “It’s not like we can get the power on ourselves.”</p><p>“This is so STUPID!” Mayday shouted. “We’ve already done this once before! We shouldn’t have to get the people back their power again. NSR or any other company!” She pounded her fists together, cracking her knuckles for everyone to hear. “When I get my hands on that woman, I swear I’m gonna beat the living shi-”</p><p>“We don’t even know if Tatiana did this,” Remi interjected. “She wasn’t in the office. And the office itself looked like Tatiana had never been there. It’s possible something happened to her, but we can’t be to sure.” He grabbed some things – A torch, batteries, a portable charger, and a small tablet - from a nearby cupboard and stuffed them into a backpack. “Our best bet right now is to head to the tower and figure out what’s going on. No doubt the other artists will be doing the same.” He fished out a few head torches from a box, placed one on his head and turned it on. He then chucked the remaining head torches to people in the room who proceeded to do the same. “Even is this Bajingan won’t listen to us, we can at least get some answers.”</p><p>The group nodded in agreement and gathered their things for a trip to the tower.<br/>
-----------------------------------<br/>
Once they got outside, they could hear the uproar and cries coming from the district centre. They were just as confused and angry as the group was; their surroundings adding a sense of dread and unease to their situation. </p><p>While the sky was mostly dark in Vinyl City, the image above them was just wrong. Usually filled with stars and swirls of colour from the aurora that settled around the city, the sky was bare and empty, not a single ounce of life glowing in the pitch-black abyss. No spotlights from concert halls shooting beams of light upwards towards the heavens, no music drifting on the breeze… just nothing. Only the shouting and screaming coming from the public nearby. The buildings were like corpses; once filled with life and light, now filled with fear and silence without any shine emitting from the windows. And the streets, while typically joyful and playful with all kinds of characters on them, illustrated with varieties of coloured LEDs and street lamps; they now lay bare and desolate, newspapers tumbling over them in the cold breeze like tumbleweeds in a desert.</p><p>This wasn’t Vinyl City. This wasn’t their home.</p><p>The musicians made their way towards the centre of Akusuka where the crowds had gathered. It was clear to everyone that this hadn’t gone down well, what with people standing on top of statues and buildings, people screaming with fists raised, and protest graffiti spray painted everywhere. Bunkbed Junction had felt they had seen this before, except now it was everyone against the company and no one was happy with the power cuts. </p><p>When they started to emerge from the side road, some stopped screaming and turned towards the group. “Hey look! It’s Bunkbed Junction!” One cried, alerting the others who quickly gathered around the group, bombarding them with questions.</p><p>“Hey Hey! Let’s calm down now!” Zuke ushered, trying to grab hold of Mayday so they couldn’t get separated. He could see out of the corner of his eye Team Sayu doing similar so they could stay together. The hoard were relentless, never letting them get a word in and shoving and pushing so they could ask their own questions. Naturally, it pissed Mayday off. It was bad enough that this was happening, but she was already pretty upset, and she really didn’t have time for this.</p><p>With a swift movement, she grabbed her guitar that lay on her back and moved it in her usual playing position. With all her strength she lifted her arm up and slammed it down on the strings, a loud strum vibrating through the centre, gathering everyone’s attention and, to her delight, getting everyone to shut up.</p><p>She took out a deep breathe, then spoke with the mob. “I know you’re all angry and frustrated and scared… we are too.” She placed a hand over her heart. “Believe me, as the representative of the little guys, we would never want this. And we never agreed to this.” She paused. “We don’t know what’s going on,” Murmurs began from the crowd. “But we’re going to find out and we’re going to put a stop to it. This is wrong. No one should have all this power, and no one should be segregated by how talented they are.” She could see the gathering were nodding, supporting her. “Music is for everyone, not just for those who are considered the elite.” She glanced at the Sayu team, who were following along with her words. She held her head high, smiled then lifted her guitar above her head. “We, as the people of Vinyl City, will save our City from this disaster and save us from another tyrannical rule!” </p><p>It started with slow claps, which evolved into cheers and whooping and cries of support. Zuke clapped her on the back and smiled at her. If anyone could get people together, it was Mayday. Morale was high in Akusuka, but that certainly didn’t do anything about the problem. They had to get to the tower. She turned and signalled to Team Sayu to follow, which they did, and sped off towards their destination.</p><p>It was a similar situation in each district as they made their way through each one. Natura was wilting, petals and leaves draped over the floors; Metro Division was in pieces with broken screens and decorations littering the area and in Dreamfever someone had clearly considered themselves an artist, enveloping all the walls in a sickly amount of colours and textures as well as destroying many of the art pieces that were spread throughout the district. </p><p>This was strange. Plants wilting in a such a short time? The people of Dreamfever destroying artwork? Perhaps the people revolting thought NSR were behind this. But that just didn’t make sense; the artists would never destroy Eve’s work, and it was certainly impossible for the plants to die that quickly. Something was going on, but they hardly had time to organise a pep talk in each district or figure it out. They had to get to the tower.</p><p>After what seemed like forever crossing the bridge that lay before the tower, they arrived at the doors; the long and foreboding structure looming over them. They shoved open the doors and entered the lobby, only to be greeted by DJ Subatomic Supernova pacing back and forth in thought, murmuring under his breath to himself. </p><p>“Uhh… DSS?” Mayday said, answered by a high-pitched screech of shock emitting from him as he jumped out of his skin. He turned to see who had addressed him, sighed, and wiped his brow in relief. Mayday was puzzled. “What are you doing down here? Why haven’t you gone up yet?”</p><p>Supernova adjusted his headphones and cleared his throat. “I was waiting for Eve to come back from her venture to the office. We thought best that only one of us should go discuss with Luthor about this since we’re also suspicious of his intentions with us. Better one of us than all of us.”</p><p>Zuke’s anger grew and he lashed out. “You sent her up there by herself?! With that sick maniac?! Have you seen what he’s done to the City already!?” Supernova shrugged. “It was her idea, and being the kind gentleman I am, I’m not one to argue with a woman. I’m a nice guy you know.” He turned his back to the group. “Although, she hasn’t come back in a while…”</p><p>Zuke threw up his hands, resisting the urge to slap him and crack his helmet like before. He stomped towards the lift, May and Team Sayu following after him. DSS extended his hand towards them. “Ah! Wait! You can’t just leave me here by myself now that you’ve arrived! Who will protect me!?” </p><p>They rolled their eyes at him as they stood in the lift waiting; Sofa being the first to speak up. “Then come with us. Or you could just leave and not get any answers.”</p><p>The DJ looked between them and the front doors, them, and the front doors again, before making the decision to go with them.</p><p>They stood in silence as the lift rose. They could feel the anticipation growing with each floor that they passed. But strangely, despite having their differences, being together bought them solitude as they lifted higher and higher towards the great power that waited at the top.</p><p>The lift dinged, signalling their arrival. The doors shifted open and they were greeted with a corridor that, while it once was decorated with posters of Tatiana and her achievements, was now a completely new sight for them to behold. A deep navy blue sprawled across the walls and extended all the way to the end, with posters of artists they’d never heard of before laying in golden frames placed on top of them. As they cautiously approached the room, they gazed at the unknown artists with wonder as they passed. The Estallia Corporation certainly had more variety of artists than NSR had. From a mature looking woman in a long red dress standing looking proudly out of the frame, to a cyberpunk, leather wearing young girl who sat in a throne with her legs crossed staring down at whoever would stop to look at poster. It appeared that more than just EDM were signed onto this company.</p><p>Out of nowhere, a loud bang came from the office, followed by a scream and a figure flying by them and falling to the ground in a heap. </p><p>“Eve!” Zuke screamed as he ran to her. She looked worse for wear; no longer the confident fashionista that people new. Her hair was like a birds nest, mangled and dirty, with her make up smudged and coming off; her complexion visible beneath it. Her once elaborate and flamboyant outfit was destroyed with pieces ripped and torn, and beads loose and shattered. She was a shell of her former self.</p><p>Zuke helped her gain her balance and stand again, but she was clearly shaken and weak from the attack. She glanced at Zuke through her tattered hair, tears in her eyes, and spoke though ragged breathes.</p><p>“Run.”</p><p>Luthor entered the corridor, twirling a cane in his hands and chuckling to himself; a sadistic smile emblazoned on his face. “So nice of you all to come! Shame that it couldn’t be all of you NSR lot, but I already sent that terrible pianist and the man running on Windows XP away. I am confused how such mediocre artists could get so big, but I then I remembered it’s NSR, so of course it’s mediocre.”</p><p>The musicians scowled at him, readying themselves for a fight. Mayday was the first to speak. “What have you done with Tatiana? We never agreed to hand over NSR to you and your company.”</p><p>He burst out laughing, hunching over and clutching his stomach. “Why do you look so angry? I’m doing your city a favour.” They glared at him harder, Mayday and Zuke preparing their instruments if he came any closer. He struck his cane on the ground. “I see… Tatiana is fine. You have nothing to worry about. I merely… relocated her to other quarters while we liberated your city.” He turned his back on the artists and peered at them over his shoulder. “Although I have no intention of letting her out of those quarters, mind you.”</p><p>Mayday screamed a battle cry as she lunged towards him, guitar in her hands ready to swing at him and channelling all of Kul Fyra’s energy that flowed through the guitar. With a mere smirk, Luthor whacked the guitar out her hands, causing May to stumble from the force. He gripped the base of his cane and plunged it into her stomach. An earthy boom filled the room as he collided with her, sending her form hurtling backwards and landing in a pile on the ground, struggling to catch her breath.  The guitar landed near her, not seriously damaged but a few strings broken from the collision with the ground.</p><p>The Sayu team and the DJ faltered and stepped back. While they wanted to support Mayday and Eve, they understood when they had met their match. </p><p>Luthor swung his cane behind his neck. “Look, since I’m in a good mood today, I’ll let you off. After all, you deserve just as much of a chance of being selected as anyone else.” He began to walk back into the office. “Why not try challenging my artists? Maybe if you beat enough of them, I’ll throw in some cheeky hints about where your precious Tatiana is.” Luthor stepped into his office then turned to address them one last time, grinning with each word. “I do suggest you take the ragdoll’s advice though and run. After all, whilst you were here, my artists made an announcement in your districts. You’re public enemy number 1 now. I suggest you find a place to hide.” He pulled a walkie talkie from a back pocket and spoke into it. “Guards, I have some NSR artists on the top floor. Do dispose of them, thank you.”</p><p>He bowed to them, closing the door behind him and locking them in place.</p><p>Tila fell to the ground and cried, quickly followed by the rest of Team Sayu. All the artists felt defeated; They lost their districts, and now they were losing their freedom. Where would they go? Who could they go to? Tatiana was no where to be found, and it seemed like their efforts were futile; this guy was too strong. And who knows how strong his artists were!</p><p>“What do we do now?” Questioned Supernova.</p><p>Mayday gathered herself and stood up from the floor. “There’s only one thing we can do. We have challenge his artists.” They looked at her with not exactly hopeful expressions. “Look, for the moment, it’s our only option. And… even though we might not be strong enough by ourselves…” She brought her fist up in a confident stance. “Together, we might just be strong enough to beat them, and gain back the districts for NSR.” She grabbed her guitar and placed it on her back. “Are you guys with me?”</p><p>They stared at her, a little bit of hope creeping back into them. Team Sayu wiped their tears and got up from the floor. They nodded in agreement. Mayday nodded back, then looked to Supernova. He sighed. “Fine… I suppose I’ll work with you simpletons… Just because I have evaluated that my power alone won’t stop them, not because I want to support you.” Mayday giggled and took it as a yes.</p><p>Finally, she looked towards Zuke, who was holding Eve up with her arm around his neck and his arm around her waist. Zuke obviously nodded; he was always going to support May, no matter what. Eve weekly raised her head to look at her, a faint smile on her lips. “Anything to get Tatiana back.”</p><p>So, it was decided. The NSR artists and Bunkbed Junction would work together to get back their districts and stop the Estallia Corporation from destroying Vinyl City. Or well… the ones that were here anyway. </p><p>Mayday thought. “Supernova, do you think you could get in contact with the other musicians? If we’re all the public enemy, it would be better if we hid together.” In response, The DJ pulled out his phone and began making calls. </p><p>Then, faint in the distance, they could hear the pounding of thousands of shoes on stairs and deep shouting of “Estallia Guard force! Stay where you are!” The Sayu team began to panic. “Oh no! It’s the guards! We’re surrounded!” cried Dodo, the young group huddling together. Mayday walked over to them, putting a gentle hand on their heads. “Don’t worry, we can get out of here no problem.”</p><p>Eve raised a ruffled eyebrow. “But How? and where do we go if we do? We cannot go home.” Eve whispered out. Mayday glanced at Zuke who already had the same idea, both of them turning to look at the glass window in the lift.</p><p>Supernova spoke up. “Where do I tell them to go?”</p><p>Mayday grinned. She pulled the Sayu team close to her with Zuke bringing Eve over to join in the huddle. She motioned towards Supernova to join them in the huddle, which he did begrudgingly. She finally answered his question. “Tell them the Sewers.” She said and started to run, the huddle instinctively running with her.</p><p>So anyway, Mayday’s plan was jumping out the window.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Today's song is 'Mafia by Wotaku ft Hatsune Miku' (They will stop being Vocaloid songs, I promise). This song gave me Luthor vibes since it's very sinister and powerful but also classy, and the bass is very catchy.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Hiding down the side roads</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sooooo.... 1010 have names? It's not confirmed, but I will be using them in this fic, since White, Blue etc. is difficult for me to write about them properly for some reason. If you don't know them, I suggest looking at the NSR Wikia page; they're colour coordinated on there. If it's confirmed or the official names are announced, I'll change them accordingly. EDIT: Because it hasn't been confirmed, similar to the wiki, I'm going to just use colours.<br/>Also, this fic kinda blew up. Wow. I know I say thank you in the comments, but genuinely thank you so much! Someone on Twitter suggested the VA's reading out fanfiction and I was like "Nooooooo........unless?"<br/>I considered trying to draw the Estallia artists, but then remembered I basically can't draw lol. I'll stick to writing because apparently I'm good at that.<br/>Also also, (these need to stop being so long) I have decided to, once the fic is finished, write little backstories for the Estallia artists like what happens in the game. I just want to expand on them because I know people like characters like Luthor and might like the other artists too.<br/>Anyway, I need to shut up, Thank you so much! Enjoy, and tell me what you thought!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>To go straight from falling out of a skyscraper to walking through the filthy sewers with the knowledge that they were five districts away from their destination after being thrashed by Luthor was not something that was enjoyable to Eve. She was surprised they even survived the fall from twenty stories up, huddled together in a sweaty mass as they watched the ground approach; screams and cries of terror from the unexpected and completely ridiculous idea that Mayday thought of. The idiocrasy of that girl… She endangered everyone! Yes, she did sacrifice her remaining guitar strings to play a riff that enveloped them and allowed them to land down safely, but still! It was absurd! But… if she could look on the bright side, they were safe for the moment, and she could hardly complain walking through the sewers with Zuke supporting her as she walked; her body pressed close to his and his face full of compassion for her… Even if it wasn’t the compassion she would have liked.</p><p>The sewers were disgusting, just as expected. Though the sewer system in Vinyl City was very efficient, that hardly eliminated the stench emitted from the green and brown waters that ran beside them. The curved walls were dewy and mouldy, leaking unknown substances onto their shoulders and dripping onto the wet floor below. </p><p>Their footsteps echoed down the tunnel as they walked towards the HQ in silence. </p><p>DJ Subatomic Supernova broke the silence, yelping as a rat ran by. He shuddered. “soooooo… why the sewers?”</p><p>“We have a base in the sewers of Festival Plaza.” Zuke answered through huffs as he was hoisting up Eve. “We have a small Qwasa generator there, so while the power is out up top, we should have light for a little bit until it runs out.”</p><p>Mayday nodded. “We have a bunkbed and a couch, as well as some cushions that people can sleep on too.” She looked around at the team they had collected, watching the teens glancing around cautiously at their surroundings, and Eve who, while appearing to be walking better, still needed treatment… and maybe a shower. “The beds and couch should probably be saved for the younger ones and the injured. We’re gonna need all our strength if we wanna beat these guys.”</p><p>“Now forgive me for speaking up,” Remi said. “But this feels like this plan wasn’t thought out. We have only a short-term course of action for power, apparently not enough room for everyone, and even if we work together, we’re going to be challenging these powerful artists without any prior knowledge as to their strengths and weaknesses.” </p><p>Eve raised her head to address him. “Pessimistic, aren’t you?” She sighed. “But Mayday, he does have a good point. At least when you challenged us you had a good idea of who we were and what we did. Even after seeing those posters, we have no idea what they’re capable of.”</p><p>Mayday opened her mouth to speak, but promptly closed it. She hated to admit it, but she wasn’t exactly full of ideas. None the less, the main course of action right now was to get to a safe place. They could figure out things later. They fell into silence once more.</p><p>As they continued walking through the sewers, the sound overhead began to grow. At first, it was gentle, soft, rhythmic music that sifted through the cracks in the manholes. This was clearly whoever had taken over Eve’s district, and the one who had covered the place in hideous shades paint when they had last seen it. It was strange to hear something different from what would typically be playing in Dreamfever; no longer the Psydub that would stream out of the speakers into the ever-evolving gallery that the district represented. It was just more proof of Luthor’s takeover of Vinyl City.</p><p>Zuke glanced at Eve as they passed, her face fallen to a frown with tears trailing down her cheeks. He leant his free arm over to her, wiping away her tears and catching her off guard. She was surprised for a moment, until she looked to see him smiling warmly at her. She faintly smiled back. It was encouraging to know that even though things seemed down, he was here for her. </p><p>Once the soft music had faded away, a new deeper, and weightier music started to emerge from above. They could already feel the bass before the sound was at its loudest, the tunnel around them shaking and crumbling under the beat. Continuing on further, they began to hear a faint singing voice through the music. They couldn’t make out the singer’s voice precisely, but they could hear it was heavily modified and almost electronic in nature. To go from 1010’s Kpop and catchy tunes to this was certainly a novel experience for them. Tila wondered how all the 1010 fan army were dealing with the loss, her being one herself. She figured if anyone could help the boys and Neon J if they were in trouble, it would be the determined and collective army that supported them. </p><p>A manhole cover started rattling. Someone was trying to get in.</p><p>They all glared at it, becoming alert to danger. Were they found? Had they already been located? They weren’t in any shape to fight and no match without recovery time, but that didn’t stop them from reading themselves and any weapons or items they were prepared to use to defend themselves. If they were going to go down, it was going to be down with a fight.</p><p>The cover lifted off to reveal several pairs of legs clad in black trousers, and a lower body clad in a black and red floral dress. The team tensed up, steading themselves for an onslaught. </p><p>“After you.” Cooed a male voice. All of a Sudden, five bodies jumped down into the sewers in front of them, shadowed in darkness, but strangely… posing poster style? Tila was already screaming a war cry, running toward the figures with a flashlight clenched in her fists over her head, ready to strike down their intruders. </p><p>“Tila wait!” cried Sofa, but she was already there and swinging down upon the hidden arm of the enemy. As the flashlight struck, a loud metal clang erupted, echoed, then faded down the sewers.<br/>
“Ow! My sensitive ears!” complained a small voice. Tila pulled back her flashlight from her victim and proceeded to flip it on to maximum setting. She shone it towards the voice that had called out to reveal a small child with ruffled yellow hair and a white suite, with a red bow hanging loose around their neck. </p><p>“Yinu!” cried the group, overjoyed to see another artist safe and sound. Tila’s face evolved into a look of terror as she moved the flashlight down to see what she struck. “1010!!!” screamed Mayday before anyone else, hearts in her eyes and already running to hug one of them; Blue was the unfortunate one to catch her grasp. Tila had hit White who had Yinu on his shoulders; her arms folded with a grumpy frown on her face. Tila looked embarrassed then lifted her hand up to rub the impact point, glancing up at White’s face and whispering a little apology. He winked back at her, making her heart flutter and her face turn from her natural blue to a shade of beet red.</p><p>Promptly coming down the ladder from the manhole cover came Neon J and then Mother; the former reaching a hand out to help the latter get down safely. Upon landing, Mother caught sight of Eve, her hands going to cover her mouth out of shock. She sped towards Eve, bombarding her with questions along the lines of “Oh my gosh, what happened?” and “Are you hurt?”. If she had an Ice pack or a wet paper towel to put on her, mother would have done so. </p><p>“NJ, your arm!” exclaimed Supernova with his finger pointing towards the dangling piece of white sleeve attached to Neon J. The manager lifted it, then let it flop down. He sighed. “Lost it whilst defending the lovely main woman and child of Natura.” He indicated to Yinu and her Mother. “It was a brutal battle. I fought valiantly but alas, even with all my experience; I could not best him.” Yinu tutted and rolled her eyes. “We fought together, don’t say it was just you.” The group chuckled.</p><p>Neon J cleared his throat then continued. “We got Supernova’s call just as we were heading to Barraca Mansion, since I thought getting 1010 would help with our situation. Turns out they were already coming to us.”</p><p>White nodded. “We’re here to support you, boss!” ♪Support you!♪</p><p>Neon saw Mother tending to Eve, who was constantly assuring her she was fine. He stood tall and addressed his troops. “Men! To arms! We have injured civilians to attend to! Assist them anyway you can!”. They saluted him back. ♪Yes Sir!♪. A member swooped over towards Eve, and much to her dislike, easily picked her up, carrying her bridal style. Red saluted to Zuke, Eve complaining in his arms. “I got this man, no need to worry.” He reassured him. Zuke raised a questionable eyebrow, but if it helped Eve better than he could do, he didn’t mind.</p><p>Mayday’s eyes widened at the prospect of being carried by a member of 1010. “Oh oh! I’m injured too!”. She announced, raising her hand like she was answer a question in class. Zuke strolled up to her and lightly hit her around the head. “You can still walk, May. We can look at your injuries when we get back.”</p><p>The group conversed as they continued walking, each side filling the other in on what had happened. The Piano-KPop side told of what they did when the power cut out: Neon J, Mother and Yinu mentioned that the moment the announcement was made by Luthor, they set off towards the tower similar to what the others did; Only difference being as they walked through the streets of Natura, they saw their surroundings slowly begin to wither and die. </p><p>“The foliage in Natura gets watered at strict and regulated times,” Yinu informed, messing with White's fluffy hair as she spoke. “Even if the gardeners missed a day, the plants shouldn’t have gone that fast… It’s sad…” She began to sniffle, her eyes watering. Mother reached a hand up to rub her daughter’s back in consolidation. She finished off what Yinu was saying. “We are not sure, but it appeared to start from the Concert Hall. Perhaps it relates to the artist that has taken over.” She suggested. Hearing this, Dodo pulled out the tablet from Remi’s backpack and wrote it down. Even if it was just a suggestion, anything was good to help with their problem.</p><p>The Rock-Pop side then told their story. By the end, they had crossed between several of the districts; each one followed a new suggestion about the Estallia artist involved, and a new note on the tablet. Judging by the silence that settled overhead, they had just arrived at Festival Plaza, since with no power the screens that would broadcast everything were all switched off. The silence was almost refreshing to hear.</p><p>As they turned through a curve in the tunnel, they started to see distant light. Bunkbed Junction’s faces lit up. “We’re here!” announced Mayday who sped off running. The artists promptly followed her, leading to the infamous Bunkbed Junction HQ.</p><p>It was very Bunkbed Junction thought the NSR artists. Compared to their abodes that had been built for them and decorated accordingly, the Sewer hideout was a mishmash of cool technology and piles of Junk. The walls were decorated with fairy lights, many of which were either tapped up or not working, and various signs like ‘Fire Exit’ and ‘No Entry’ illuminated where the fairy lights couldn’t. Framed on one side were a large selection of Vinyls from various rock bands and indie artists with a special, very shiny ‘The Goolings’ Vinyl situated in the centre; the amount of polishing and care to keep it looking brand new must be thanks to Mayday.</p><p>Over in one corner sat the bunkbed. Though it was looking worse for wear and hadn’t been made up that morning, it still had a homeliness about it. Like sure, it probably needed throwing out, but it was just a part of the big Bunkbed Junction family. The couch too had a similar feeling about it; situated in front of a TV mended with duct tape and a few scatter cushions thrown on to its pink exterior. Laying between the couch and the TV was a round coffee table which, judging by the coffee stains that had been plastered across its face, certainly lived up to its name. Beside that existed a sort of table in its self -  a large stack of Pizza boxes that was being used to hold a radio and a takeaway cup filled with a flat Coco Loca drink. Finally, situated to the side of the room was a black and blue drum kit with drumsticks placed in various holders decorating the wall behind it. </p><p>“Tada!” Mayday proudly shouted doing Jazz hands.</p><p>Supernova facepalmed. “Please do not tell me you were doing your music revolution from a place like this.” He asked, lifting up a rogue sock from a pile of CDs. </p><p>Mayday looked smug. “Yes, we did! We don’t need a fancy mansion or an entire district to be strong, we just needed each other, right Zuke?”</p><p>Zuke had already walked past Mayday and was looking for a first aid kit. “Huh? Oh yeah, of course buddy.” He pulled out a slightly rusted tin from a collection of magazines. Seeing it appropriate, Rin and Zimelu placed down Eve and Yinu on the couch; Zuke quickly walking over to Eve with a bandage in hand. </p><p>Finally, the artists could rest. Though for a lot them it wasn’t the place they wanted to be in, they couldn’t argue that it was relieving to be safe; and the hideout was almost comforting, albeit a bit shabby. The fact that they had power as well was relieving. They had placed some frozen Pizzas in a small oven, mainly for the younger of the group who (mainly Yinu) were complaining about their stomachs grumbling. </p><p>Zuke approached Mayday after tending to Eve, who was now trying to get her hair to some sort of normality with a hairbrush. “May, lift up your top.”</p><p>Her face lit up red. “Zuke! You can’t just ask me that suddenly! This is rated for general audiences!” She covered her body with her arms. Zuke rolled his eyes and tried to pry them apart, but May was very insistent that it wouldn’t happen. “May, we live together, I’ve seen you in a bra before, I just want to help.” He said. She pouted her lip and shook her head. He rolled his eyes again, then placed his hands on her hips and squeezed, causing her to jolt and unleash her crossed arms, a yelp coming from her lips. Mother had covered Yinu’s eyes at his point. With swift action, he lifted her top a little to expose a large and angry bruise on her stomach.</p><p>“Holy shi-” He looked towards Yinu, who was struggling to find her Pizza with a hand over her eyes. “Holy cow May! Doesn’t this hurt?!” He reached a hand to poke it but was promptly swatted away. “It’s… fine…” She muttered, pulling her top back down. Zuke was having none of it. “May, that clearly isn’t fine.” He pulled out a numbing cream from the tin and chucked it at her, Mayday catching it in her hands. “Look, if you don’t want me to do it, that’s okay, but I need to use this at some point.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t like to see you hurt…”</p><p>Zuke walked away towards the pile of pizza and the group that had gathered around the coffee table. Mayday lifted her hand and touched the bruise. She winced; It did hurt. It hurt a lot. It had hurt since Luthor had hit her, and even though she was breathing slightly better, filling her lungs with air was excruciating. She glanced towards the group who were discussing the notes Dodo had written on the tablet, and then back to her stomach. She carefully applied the cream, making sure to hide the pain from the pressure of her fingers on her skin. Mayday didn’t want them to worry; Zuke especially. She was a fighter and she was strong; she could easily get through this and just let it heal naturally. She was fine.</p><p>Once she had finished, she joined the table. The musicians experienced a moment of solidarity, just discussing what they knew and what to do next. Though it was all speculation, speculation was better than nothing. Eventually, once the pizza had decreased to nothingness, they formed a plan.</p><p>“So, after consideration, our first course of action is getting back Cast Tech.” He turned the tablet around to show the bullet points that he and Dodo had written. “If we get back Cast Tech, we might be able to syphon off the power so that it goes directly to the district we would have just taken. This means more power against the other artists, and more power to help with the music from ourselves, 1010 and DSS, since we are the ones who mainly require power to perform.” He sighed and looked down. “We might be able to get Sayu back…” Sensing his sorrow, the Sayu team group hugged - Sofa pulling them together for a big squeeze - all eager to get their persona back. </p><p>Eve spoke, her appearance now resembling something like the former artist. Her clothes were still in tatters though. Zuke had offered her some of his clothes, but she refused; either because she was being humble, or she couldn’t imagine wearing something so uncouth. “And with the capture of Cast Tech, hopefully an idea as to where Tatiana is.”</p><p>They all voiced their agreement. Supernova shivered. “I cannot begin to fathom what these fiends have done to my precious Club Planetarium…” He gasped. “And my models! My solar system was perfection enhanced! Any damage to them will result in stupendous consequences for the perpetrators.”</p><p>Before anyone else could speak, the sound of footsteps on a ladder broke through the pause. The figure was crying, deep moans of displeasure coming from them. They all swivelled around to look at the ladder, some of them standing up quickly and grabbing objects nearby. Another false alarm? Or was this for real this time?</p><p>The figure came running into the room, falling to their knees at the feet of the Zuke. </p><p>“Yiruk?” Zuke knelt down to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “My man, what’s happened?”</p><p>He was spluttering and stumbling over his words. “P-P-P-P- Plaza…” He interrupted himself with a large sniffle, snot and tears running down his face. Yinu came over with a little hanky, which he took and proceeded to aggressively blow his nose into. He tried to hand it back to Yinu who politely declined getting it back. </p><p>Mayday came over and placed a hand on his other shoulder, slightly grimacing as she bent over. “Hey dude, breathe. You got this.” Yiruk took deep breathes, each punctuated with a sob. After maybe a minute, he settled down enough to talk. “Now Yiruk, tell us what’s up. What’s wrong with the plaza?”</p><p>He wiped his nose with the hanky. “The Plaza man… it’s been taken over…” He cried a little harder. “I couldn’t do it man! It was too much! They were too strong! My band… they didn’t make it out… they told me to run…” His placed his face in his hands. “I’m a terrible band member man! I should’ve been better!” He fell into a hug with Zuke, who very awkwardly patted him on the back.</p><p>The musicians looked at each other; Supernova being the first to speak up. “If Festival Plaza has been taken over…” </p><p>“Then we don’t have safe access to the Grand Qwasa and we can no longer re-route power” Remi interjected. They looked to Mayday and Zuke, the revolutionaries of the group. “What do we do?” Yinu asked.</p><p>Bunkbed Junction exchanged a glance. They smiled, Zuke raising a fist. Mayday raised her own and fist bumped it back. She turned to the NSR artists.</p><p>“Cast Tech can wait. We gotta get the plaza back first.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Today's song isn't Vocaloid (Yay!). Today it's 'Pegboard Nerds - Disconnected'. Please check it out!</p><p>On a serious note, creating each Estallia Artist has been very taxing on my anxiety. My head kinda goes "But what if people don't like your choice?" and then I say to myself "It'll be fine" and then my head will be like "But what if?" All I ask is that you enjoy the fic as a whole, even if one artist didn't turn out to be that great. I've tried to make them as quirky but still well written and understandable as possible. Just wanted to get my thoughts out there. Thanks.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. vs. The Soul Reapers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>BATTLE HYPE! BATTLE HYPE! BATTLE HYPE!<br/>But seriously, battles are hard to write. Any feedback will be great.<br/>I want to thank my friend for both watching all the cutscenes of NSR to then help me with ideas for this battle. Cheers buddy.<br/>In around a week, lectures start again so I want to ask all of you how often you would like a chapter. I think I could manage one a week, with occasionally putting out one shots on Sundays, but if you can think of the perfect time for me to upload them, that would be great.<br/>Rude word warning for those it concerns.<br/>Anyway, BATTLE HYPE LET'S GO!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When they rose out the sewers, the first thing Bunkbed Junction heard was a guitar riff that rippled through the air; the plucks fast and precise with a foreboding tune about them. Behind the guitar playing broke in a drum beat that weaved into the guitar solo seamlessly, followed by a low bass that set the backing to the other instruments, magnifying the power that sifted around them. </p><p>Mayday and Zuke were confident when they first heard the music. This was their home ground, both the music genre and the area. Even if these guys were stronger, the rock duo had the upper hand. </p><p>With a final grin and a fist bump, they set off to the centre, towards where the sound was coming from.<br/>
----------------------<br/>
“Just give up chick! You’ve got nothing on our tunes!” </p><p>They approached the centre to see it thoroughly trashed. Skulls and symbols were spray painted anywhere and on anything that had a surface, the ground was scorched with black markings and ash sprinkled across it, and the screens were shattered; only a few showing a black and white logo made up of jagged edges and spikes making up the words…</p><p>“The Soul Reapers?” Mayday questioned.</p><p>They arrived midway through a battle, a young girl with long yellow hair and an acoustic guitar on one side, and a group of rowdy boys dressed in all black with chains and all varieties of hair styles on the other. They watched as the band played, their music sending waves towards the girl, making her feet slip as she tried to keep upright. She played her guitar beautifully, almost making a dent in their onslaught, but the combined force of the Soul Reapers was too strong. The girl lost her footing, sending her tumbling backwards and into a nearby wall, her guitar clattering to her feet. The band laughed. A member with long black hair, a ripped denim jacket and ripped jeans strolled towards her, his hands playing with the chains that lay on his waist. The girl appeared terrified, cowering in her arms for protection. The guy just smirked, picked up the girl’s guitar, and sauntered confidently back to his group. He then chucked the guitar onto a pile of instruments which the duo hadn’t seen before. It was scarily large; they had clearly taken down many artists.</p><p>Mayday and Zuke were disgusted. “Hey! Emo boy!” shouted May who had already stomped over to the girl, standing in front of her. Zuke followed, helping the girl to stand, making sure she was okay. After a nod and a thanks, she ran off down the road to safety. </p><p>The band appeared to be laughing too much at their latest victory to notice her, so shouted again. “OI! I’M TALKING TO YOU! YOU… YOU… GOOLINGS RIPOFF!” </p><p>This got their attention. The 4 boys turned to look at her menacingly, the one who took the girl’s guitar, whom they assumed was the leader, walking over to a microphone. “You talking to us, cut offs?” The boys behind him snickered. May looked down at the trousers below her skirt, which did indeed cut off before her ankles. She retorted with “I’d rather have cut off’s then look like I bought my wardrobe from Hot Topic!” This angered them, their faces falling from their previous elation and bringing them to attention. “I’ll have you know cut off’s that Hot Topic is a decent store.” He pointed a scaly red finger in her direction.  “Just because you can’t see good style, doesn’t mean it’s bad.” As he was responding, his band mates had readied their instruments. </p><p>“Awww, Did I make you mad? You gonna cry?” Mayday mocked back. Zuke stood beside her, the duo exchanging a nod. “We are Bunkbed Junction. This plaza belongs to the rightful people of Vinyl City; You have no place being here. We challenge you to a battle.” </p><p>The band laughed manically. “You’re Bunkbed Junction?! You two?! Cut Offs and Loafers?! You were the ones who fought with NSR?!” He laughed a little more before wiping a tear from his eye. “What a joke!” He sighed, then glared at the duo. “But if you challenge us to a battle…” The group raised their arms ready, the leader grabbing the microphone out of its stand. “Then so be it.”</p><p>The Soul Reapers slammed down on their instruments, a massive explosion of heat erupting from them and fire pillars shooting out from the ground. In response, Bunkbed Junction pulled out their own instruments, ready for the battle ahead… Only… there was a problem.</p><p>“Uh… Zuke?” </p><p>Zuke looked over to see Mayday with a concerned look on her face, then glanced down to see the guitar in her hands - Kul Fyra’s guitar - still had its strings broken. Zuke’s hopes dropped. They were down a band member. But they didn’t have time to assess the guitar, with the band of boys already going into a song.</p><p>Being up this close and having it directed at them made it deafening, even with all the rock concerts they had been to. The leader hadn’t even begun to sing yet, but they could feel the power that the music contained. Each member was clearly giving their all for this.</p><p>Mayday and Zuke gathered themselves. Even if Mayday couldn’t fight back, Zuke still could. He just needed an opening. Their main plan for now was to dodge and survive, that way they could get used to their attacks and music, and eventually be able to find a time to strike. Mayday stuck close to Zuke as they were covering their faces from the heat. It felt like they had been put in a furnace or a microwave. It was hard to breathe it was that bad. Mayday began to cough, the strain on already sore insides being pushed to its limit. Zuke saw this, shouting back to her “Follow my lead!” to which she replied with a short nod.</p><p>All music had rhythm to it, the band’s music no exemption from that. As a drummer himself, Zuke could see the pillars were structured and corresponded to the drummer’s aggressive bashing of the drums that lay in front of him. ‘A drummer is the backbone of any band,’ He thought. ‘Throw the drummer off and the band falls with it.’</p><p>Zuke’s plan was set into motion. He closed his eyes, listening to when the bass drum stomped, the snare drum hissed, and the cymbals clashed; paying attention to each note that came from instrument. After a moment, the other instruments disappeared in his mind, the only sound being the beats. He took notes: ‘The rudiments… Quarter beats… four by four bars… halfway eights…’ It all fell into place. </p><p>He sped off towards the group, Mayday following right behind him. With precision and ease, he weaved and pivoted around the pillars of fire, feeling the burning flame near him as he passed. He stared directly at the drummer as he did, his mere gaze as he gain ground against them causing the drummer to faulter slightly; fear and disbelief setting in the guy’s face. Once he was near them, he pulled out his drumsticks and raised them above his head, crossing them over each other. His drumkit materialized in front of him, and with a final glare at the drummer, he brought the drumsticks down onto them, a cool air spreading out from the force of contact and freezing the pillars in their path. The drumming stopped, the drumkit that was once being used to attack now frozen over in a chunk of ice with the drummer’s hands caught within. The band looked to their trapped friend in incredulity, stopping their performance to cry “Piezo! No!”</p><p>Mayday cheered. “YEAH! GET ICED BOI!” </p><p>Grinning, Zuke took the pause to take his attacks, bringing his drumsticks overhead yet again to send an onslaught onto the group. The bassist span around to witness his preparation and blasted out a chord, sending Bunkbed Junction back to the wall. Once stable, the rock duo looked to see the band quite obviously pissed off with scowls and furrowed eyebrows all around. </p><p>The leader huffed, smoke puffing out of his nose. “Listen here JUNKbed Junction! You’re starting to mess with our vibe! We don’t take kindly to Indie’s like you!” He shoved the bassist. “Bridge, start playing! We gotta thrash these bastards!”  The bassist glanced between his leader and the drummer encased in ice who was trying to pry his hands out of his prison. “Truss, we can’t really play without a beat. It’ll sound crap.” </p><p>The singer huffed again, snatched the bass from his mate’s hands and kicked him to the ground where he hit his head and was knocked unconscious. He raised his hand and glared at the guitarist, who out of fear followed along. They played their guitars, less shaped and rhythmic than before and almost jarring on the ears. The music felt emptier than before, the remaining members no longer putting their strength into it, and the singer not being the best of guitarists, making faults as he strummed.</p><p>The fire rose from the ground again, this time in waves and slices that Mayday and Zuke were barely able to jump over. This time it was May’s turn to do something. Though she couldn’t play, that didn’t stop her from seeing the melody played by the two boys and how the waves flowed and intertwined sharply like their performances. Their lack of proper rhythm is what assisted her in finding the path to them. As she stared at the flames, she saw how gaps formed whenever a mistake was made, or the two string instruments didn’t work together. As if on cue, the leader’s fingers slipped up, a small path forming at the side of the waves. Taking her chance, she darted towards it, dodge rolling through the parting to come out safe by the band. </p><p>Now, Mayday couldn’t play her guitar, but that didn’t stop it from being a heavy weapon.</p><p>She pulled it from its holding and grabbed it by its neck. With determination filling her, she swung back the instrument, to then propel it forward and across the body of the leader, knocking the wind out of him and ripping the bass guitar from his hands. He sailed across their mini stage and fell at the lead guitarists feet who, after seeing three band mates fail, dropped his guitar, and ran to help his drummer friend. </p><p>The rock duo high fived, then made their way to confront the leader of the band who was breathing heavy, and slowly stumbling to his feet. Zuke offered the guy a hand to get up, which he swatted away. “You think you’re so special…” He said through rough breathes. “You think you’re the greatest band in the world, don’t you…” </p><p>Mayday and Zuke began to step away from him, taking caution. This fight wasn’t over yet.</p><p>Suddenly, the singer screamed at them, his shouts ear piecing and forcing the two of them to cover their ears. The soundwaves knocked them off the stage once again, and they fell to the floor from the sheer pressure the sound was putting on their bodies. They could feel their heads beginning to spin and their ears crying out in pain. It wasn’t just them either, his own band mates were shielding their ears from his shrieking.</p><p>It went on for what felt like hours. After an eternity of screaming, he stopped to take a breath, in which he stepped towards the microphone that sat on the ground. Mayday and Zuke were practically deaf at this point, all sounds around them faint and barely audible. Zuke looked towards Mayday to see from her ears dripped a red liquid, which made him fill with fear. She made eye contact with him, her eyes brimming on the verge of tears. They were hopeless, defeated right when they thought they were winning. They had faced all the NSR artists, even Tatiana, but nothing compared to this… how could they beat him when they barely had strength to raise their heads?</p><p>They feebly looked towards the stage where the singer had weakly picked up the microphone. The singer smiled with hubris. He knew he had won at the very last second. </p><p>They didn’t properly hear it, but they saw the guitarist stand up and his mouth move. He must have been talking to his leader because the singer turned around to look at him. Vague words came through like “Stop” and “Not our style”. The singer just shook his head and dismissed anything his member was saying, returning to staring down the fragile and finished Bunkbed Junction. They watched as he stumbled off the stage and inched towards them, spinning the microphone loosely in his hands.</p><p>This was it. Through all their hardships and struggles, they were defeated, and by a band of their genre no less. Zuke reached a shaking hand towards Mayday, which after seeing it through tearful eyes, took it in her own and lovingly squeezed it. They smiled sadly at each other.</p><p>Bunkbed Junction always stays together, no matter the situation.</p><p>They watched as the singer stood in front of them. They saw him take a deep breathe in, and braced themselves for the final showstopper…</p><p>A flying vinyl sliced through the air, knocking the microphone out of his hand.</p><p>The leader span around to see who had interrupted his final blow, only to receive another vinyl directly to his face, leaving a large cut from cheek to cheek. His face exploded bright red, smoke billowing out his nostrils. “Who threw that?! Show yourselves!” He looked to his crew, who were shaking their heads furiously. </p><p>More vinyls were thrown from all directions, each hitting their mark, tearing his clothes and cutting his exposed skin. The rush of them pushed him off his feet, landing with a thud on the ground. The singer was glancing around rapidly, looking to every corner of the plaza for the culprit. “Damn it! I said show yourselves you cowards!”</p><p>From the shadows emerged Team Sayu and DJ Subatomic Supernova, with Yinu sat around his neck carrying a collection of vinyls. The DJ chuckled. “If I were to categorize you as something in our infinite cosmos above, it would be Jupiter. Full of hot air and surrounded by pointless dark material.” She handed one to him, which he promptly frisbeed towards the singer. The singer dodged this one by tilting his head to the side, annoyance displayed on his features. As he stood up and moved to confront the DJ and the prodigy, he was swept off his feet by a pink arm that had protruded out of the ground. He stared at it with bemusement as it waved gently to him, not seeing another pair appearing behind him and grabbing onto his legs, keeping him held in place. He began to freak out, swinging his arms wildly. </p><p>Mayday and Zuke watched with surprise and delight. They thought all hope was lost, but it seemed they forgot that this time in their revolution, they weren’t alone.</p><p>They heard footsteps and turned around to see Neon J leading his troops towards the captured singer, sauntering majestically in formation with determination in their step. The manager stopped in between the Soul Reaper member and Bunkbed Junction, and with a simple click of his fingers, 1010 gathered around the singer, each posing in their signature position.</p><p>Neon J cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the now terrified performer. “You think you can sing?” He asked, confidence lacing his tone. He squared his shoulders and point a gloved finger at the artist. “Let us show you what real singing is.”</p><p>1010’s eyes glowed, their robotic bodies coursing with music. With another click from their manager, their mouths opened to sing their final showstopper, the other artists around the area joining in with their chorus. </p><p>BUNKA!</p><p>JUNKA!</p><p>SHAKALAKA!</p><p>♪BAM!♪</p><p>With the final bam, bright soundwaves blasted the singer, signalling his defeat as the sound of 1010’s melodic voices filled the air. Once the waves had cleared, the artists joined around the now finished and weak rock performer; Mayday and Zuke being helped up by the Sayu crew. They stared as leader cried, his tears falling to the ground. Mayday, through shaky breaths, was the first to address him.</p><p>“Dude, as a fellow rock performer, your music isn’t bad. Just…” She paused. “Have some humbleness, and care for your band. They’re not just your band mates…” She glanced towards the rest of the Soul Reapers who had finally gotten the drummer out of the ice and were checking up on each other. “They’re your family.” She extended her hand to help him up.</p><p>The leader blubbered some more, wiping his eyes and trying to stifle sniffles. When he saw the extended hand, he grew angry and swatted it away; much to group’s surprise. They watched as he stumbled to his feet, holding his arm. “NO! I AM THE GREATEST! THIS WAS JUST LUCK!” He glared at his band. “YOU! YOU’RE THE ONES WHO ARE WEAK! YOU WERE THE REASON I FAILED!” He spun on his heels and busted through the artists that had gathered around him. He began to limp quickly away, calling a final warning to the musicians. “I’LL BE BACK, YOU HEAR ME?! I’M UNSTOPPABLE! I’M BETTER THAN EVERYONE HERE!” And with that, he disappeared down a side alley and was gone.</p><p>Eve flicked her hair. “Better than everyone he says? Not in that get up he isn’t.” This got a chuckle from the group, lightning the sour mood. </p><p>Mayday sighed and smiled at the musicians. “Thanks guys, we couldn’t have done it without you. Really.” They all just shrugged their shoulders or dismissed her praise. She laughed a little with embarrassment. “Probably should have remembered my guitar was broken… or just asked you all to help us in the first place.” Supernova wiped some blood from her face with his finger. “You forget that you’re not the only people who are part of this revolution this time,” He chuckled. “Even if some of us are at a far higher state of importance than others.” </p><p>Mayday rolled her eyes. She looked behind the artists to see the Soul Reaper band members sat on the small stage, looking glum. She stumbled over to them; the boys seeing her as she approached and putting their hands up in defence.</p><p>“We’re sorry! We just wanted to perform somewhere when Luthor offered this area to us! Truss is the one who wanted to take it further!” The drummer pleaded. Mayday shook her head, responding with, “You don’t have to apologise. I get it,” She looked over at Zuke, then back to the band. “We just wanna play too. It sucks when one person isn’t getting along with the idea of what the rest of you want to be like.” She gestured to the NSR artists. “Why don’t you come help us? You don’t have to be a part of a large company to perform in Vinyl City; even the little guys are welcome.” They looked between one another with worried expressions. “But… we don’t have a singer… and with Truss running around….”</p><p>“Pfffffft! Neither do we, but we have a fair number of fans!” She sighed. “And… Truss? Did you say? Don’t worry about him. Whatever he can throw at us,” She raised a fist. “We’ll be ready next time.”</p><p>They smiled and raised a fist with her. She then gestured for them to follow her. “Come on, we can go back to our hideout. It’s super cool, I promise.” The band shook their heads, surprising May. The bassist flicked his hair. “We’re with you, but I feel its probably for the best that we try to find our sound for a while, especially now we’re a member down.” He looked at the NSR artists from behind his fringe. “I think you guys have got this even without our help.”</p><p> </p><p>May was shocked by the rejection but agreed with them either way. From her own personal experience, it was for the best course of action for them, and like the bassist said, with Bunkbed Junction and NSR working together, they certainly had it covered. </p><p>“May, come on! We’re heading back to base! We can fix your guitar when we get there!” </p><p>“Coming Zuke!” She began to walk back to join the group, until her feeble legs gave out under her, and she fell to the ground. “OW! MY FACE!” Zuke face palmed, both embarrassed and concerned for her. She started to stand up again, only to be swept off her feet and into the arms of White, who winked at her as she stared in amazement. “Does my lady need help walking?” He cooed in a smooth voice. She nodded without hesitation and stumbled over words to respond back. With quick pace, they re-joined the group and commenced the walk back to the HQ.</p><p>They had won this battle, even if it almost took them down. A new ally was gained in the fight against Luthor and the Estallia Corporation, and Mayday got to be carried by a member of 1010. But still, five artists remained in control of their districts, and with a new powerful enemy running around in the shadows waiting to strike, this was but a small victory in their road ahead.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>For each battle there will be a song list! OOOO! Since the music changes throughout the battles in game, I'm trying to think of a similar thing. Or at least songs that are like the artists. Today's songs are:<br/>'Fall Out Boy - Dance Dance'<br/>'Set It Off - Plastic Promises'<br/>'BABYMETAL - Papaya'<br/>'UtsuP - Hyper Reality Show ft Hatsune Miku</p><p>Thank you all so much for your support!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Trek Before The Fork In The Road</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A lovely person on Twitter informed me that apparently my fanfic is talked about on the NSR Discord. Hi Discord! I have joined it, I'm just a noob when it comes to discord so have no idea what to do lol.<br/>For those that missed it, I'm changing the 1010 names to their colours, because the names haven't been confirmed yet.<br/>I do it every chapter, but thank you all so much. Because of the praise for this fanfic, I've entered a writing competition! Not with fanfiction of course, with my own original piece. Wish me luck! <br/>Small note, I am British, so in this chapter I use the word 'Plaster' instead of 'Band Aid'. Just in case it causes confusion.<br/>Please enjoy and tell me what you thought! Even if your comment is just "AHHHHHHH!" I'm honestly excited to get any.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The NSR artists and Bunkbed Junction arrived back to the Sewer HQ to be greeted by a clean and organised living area. Pizza boxes gone, stains cleaned, sheets organised, and beds made up of blankets and cushions laying neatly in a small area on the floor. It was like arriving to a completely new HQ; like Bunkbed Junction hadn’t marked the place with dirt and grime in the time they were there. It was a shock to the rock duo especially, their mouths agape when they witnessed the cleanliness.</p><p>“My stuff! My hard work!” Mayday cried. White placed her down gently and she made her way over to the coffee table, dragging a finger over its now immaculate face. “My dirt!”</p><p>As if on cue, Mother came around the corner from the storeroom, a little alligator with a bow around her neck in her arms. She had opted to stay behind since, without Yinu having her piano, she wasn’t too much help. “Oh! You’re back! I am glad you are safe.” She put Ellie down on the ground; Ellie running happily towards Zuke and rubbing up against his leg, eager to show him her new accessory. Mother smiled at the sight. “I hope you do not mind, but I cleaned a little whilst you were out. Do not worry, I did not throw away anything that was not rubbish. All the important things are still here.”</p><p>Mayday fell to her knees, banging a fist on the table. “THE PIZZA BOXES WERE IMPORTANT! I SPENT YEARS COLLECTING THOSE!” She cried. The outburst caused Mother to jump from shock. Her features filled with guilt. Zuke, sensing the tension, picked up Ellie and placed her in Mayday’s lap. The latter proceeded to hug the alligator, tears coming from her eyes. “SHE’S ADORABLE, BUT I’M STILL SAD!”</p><p>Zuke sighed, then turned to Mother. “Thank you, we were in need of a clean-up if I’m being honest.” He looked to Mayday who was getting her face licked with little alligator kisses, still crying. He chuckled. “She’ll be fine. She can always start her collection again if it bothers her that much.” Mother smiled and responded with “The boxes are still in the bins, if she would like to get them.” Hearing this, Mayday gasped and began to shoot off towards the direction of the bins until Zuke grabbed her, stopping her in her path. “Boxes can wait; you’re more injured than before.” He instructed. She pouted in response but sat down on the couch none the less.</p><p>Whilst the duo were tending to their wounds, the NSR artists were discussing who would sleep where, and how they were going to approach taking Cast Tech. After a short discussion about beds, it was decided that Yinu and Team Sayu would take the bunkbed at a squeeze, Eve and Mother would take the couch, DJ Subatomic Supernova, Mayday and Zuke would take the blankets and cushions and finally, with much protest from Neon J about his ‘importance and status’ and how ‘He wouldn’t be reduced to such low standards’ and something about the trenches, he and 1010 agreed to either take the floor or the bags of sand in the store room. They were the only people where comfort wasn’t too much of an issue, what with being made of metal and all.</p><p>Zuke wiped Mayday’s face with a wet cloth to clear up the blood; her face scrunching up from the sensation. Zuke tutted. “May, hold still. I can’t clean your face properly if you keep on making cute faces like that.” At the sentiment, May stared at him with a look of surprise. He froze and blushed, realising his words and coughing a little so he could change the subject. “So… think we have any strings to fix your guitar with? Kinda pointless trying to challenge anymore artists if your guitar doesn’t work.” He placed the cloth on the table and went into the medical tin, pulling out a set of plasters. He took one from its packaging, and carefully placed in on a graze on Mayday’s cheeks, her face doing that little scrunch up thing again, sending his heart fluttering. </p><p>Mayday thought hard. “We probably have some somewhere, can’t imagine that we wouldn’t since, you know, we’re a band.” She watched as Zuke began to clean himself up. “Dude, what are you doing? Give it here.” He wearily handed the cloth to May, who then wiped his face and arms down for him. “There. Better.” She paused, an awkward silence falling between the two of them. “Is your hearing back yet?” Zuke asked, concerned. Mayday, sensing the opportunity, responded with “What? You’re gonna have to speak up a bit.” He repeated himself but slightly louder, to which May also repeated herself, this time putting a hand to her ear as if to try and magnify his voice. Catching on, Zuke jokingly nudged her, the two of them laughing. Once they had calmed down, May stood up from the couch and offered a hand to her band mate. “Come on, we can try the storeroom. There might be some strings in there.” Zuke took her offer, and hand in hand they set off into the back of the HQ.</p><p>Meanwhile, the NSR artists were dealing with a small problem of their own. After the recent battle, it had come apparent to them that only two of the five artists had means of fighting, those being 1010 and Eve; though without her music, Eve’s strength was significantly weakened. Without power, the DJ and Team Sayu didn’t have many options. Tila could sing of course, but without the persona as cover, the anxiety and pressure of singing as herself was too much to even consider the idea. That only left one person left…</p><p>“Yinu, can you play any other instruments?” asked Supernova. The young girl shook her head, replying in a sweet voice. “No, I focused on piano because daddy played it. I did not learn anything else.” She looked to 1010, who were in the corner playing Satu, chucking cards with colourful numbers onto a pile. She frowned. “And I refuse to sing.”</p><p>The artists thought for a moment. Neon J interrupted the silence. “Maybe something like a keyboard? It’s more portable than a piano but has a similar style.” They all looked to the prodigy to hear her response, but she didn’t say anything. Mother responded instead. “We have tried a keyboard before whilst she was learning, but… it did not end well.” The other artists out of fear didn’t want to ask what had happened. </p><p>The room fell to silence, bar from the boys who were getting a bit too hyped over their game. Eve interjected with “So, we need something that is like a piano, but portable and not keyboard…” She addressed Yinu. “Is there any type of music you like except from classical?” </p><p>The question made Yinu ponder. Did she like any music other than classical? The piano was always such a beautiful instrument to her. Even when she had her first lessons and her father was going over basic chords with her, sat in a regal quarter of the mansion, she had always bonded with the smooth, melodic symphony of the piano keys, never even thinking that she would have to consider something else. But if there was any other genre of music she would consider, well…</p><p>“Mama does EDM sometimes. I like that. She makes my piano sound cool.” She suggested. Mother smiled at the gesture, pulling her daughter into a hug. Yinu let herself be absorbed by her Mother’s warmth in the moment, before finishing her sentence. “If we can find something that is like a piano, is not a keyboard, and can make EDM, I would be willing to try it.”</p><p>“Oh! I have an idea!” Came a voice from the other room. The artists glanced towards the storeroom, where things began to suddenly fling from out of its door: some books, some boxes, a tool box, a ladder, a tuba, and Ellie, who upon landing ran back into the room so she could be flung again. </p><p>“AHAH!” Mayday cried. After some crashing sounds and some cries of frustration from Zuke, Mayday emerged looking like she just went through a hedge backwards. She had something in her hands, which she walked over and placed into Yinu’s. The pianist stared at it, turning it back and forth in confusion. Its colours were obnoxious; a bright purple and pink, similar to Mayday’s old guitar, except the design of this had faded with age. It was jarring on Yinu’s eyes and the fact that it wasn’t her traditional white, gold and red design was annoying. However, it also intrigued her. It was shaped like a guitar, with a long neck extending off on one side, and yet on its face lay piano keys, whose colour had turned creamy from being left alone for so long.</p><p>The young girl raised an eyebrow. “What is it?” She questioned, before furrowing her brow. “This better not be a small keyboard…”</p><p>Mayday snorted. “No, don’t worry, its not a small keyboard. Or, well, not technically.” She learnt towards the Yinu and adjusted the prodigy’s positioning and grip on the instrument so she was holding it properly. “It’s a keytar. It has piano keys, but makes sounds similar to something you would have in EDM.” May flicked a switch on the edge of it, the body lighting up. “You have to use one hand like the chords on a guitar, and the other like you’re playing the keys of a piano. Try it out!”</p><p>Yinu peered over the side of the Keytar to observe the keys. She lined her fingers along them, the sensation of her digits on keys once again sending her back to the Natura Concert Hall; an audience admiring her performance as she played for all her worth. She took a deep breath, bringing her back into the moment. She glanced to her other hand, unsure of where to place her fingers so choosing to just use her index finger on the far top of the neck. Turning her attention to the other hand once again, she aligned it to play a simple piano chord. With shaking breathes, she pushed down on the keys.</p><p>A low, electric hum burst to life from the instrument, surprising the girl. It was strange to hear something other than the sound of a grand piano coming from keys, but she wasn’t against the novel sound she experienced, choosing to press the keys again and hold them down. The hum came to life again. Hearing the flat sound, she peered towards the hand gripping the neck. She was no expert on guitars, but having seen Mayday play hers from time to time, she moved her integers down the length of the neck. She witnessed the sound warp, the low hum becoming higher the closer she got to the keys.</p><p>She let go, the sound fading from the room. She grinned, then giggled with delight, turning to her Mother. “Mama! Mama! It sounds like what you make!” Yinu, now entranced by the instrument, attempted to play more. She wasn’t very good, but it was a start, and she seemed to enjoy the buzz of the keys as her little fingers flew over them. It brought joy to the artists in the room. It was a moment of peace and happiness in the bleak reality they were currently experiencing. </p><p>After a playing for a while, Yinu held out the keytar to Mayday. “Mayday, can you teach me some stuff? I want to be able to play really well, and sound just like mama’s music!” The request made May fill with excitement. She wasn’t learning to play the guitar, but a keytar wasn’t far from that, and teaching anyone how to play was such an endearing request for her to hear. May scratched the back of her head. “I’d love to! But I can’t teach you anything with a stringless guitar. Gotta wait till we find some strings in the back.”</p><p>Yinu placed the instrument on the table and sprang up from the couch, shooting towards the storeroom crying “I can help!” as she disappeared around the side and out of view. May and Mother exchanged a look of surprise, before chuckling to themselves. May began to leave, only for Mother to grab her arm, bringing her to attention. “Are you sure she can have this? I would not want to take it if you need it.” Mayday blew a raspberry and dismissed her with a wave of her hand. “Of course it’s fine. I never got along with it anyway… too many keys. I prefer my guitars to have none.” She left with pep in her step, following Yinu into the storeroom.</p><p>A moment of silence passed, before Remi coughed, drawing the NSR artists attention. “I think we should go over the plan for our Cast Tech take over one more time.” They nodded at the idea, all of the group except the ones in the storeroom gathering around to see the power point plan that Remi, Dodo, and DJ Subatomic Supernova had created. The DJ tutted. “I would have preferred to use something more sophisticated to make our scheme, but we agreed to settle for more… simpler means of conveying our ideas.”</p><p>Ignoring the sentiment, Remi began to explain the strategy. “From what we heard whilst in the sewers, we know that the artists who have taken over are using the speakers in Club Planetarium, meaning they’re using Supernova’s DJ desk since the desk is connected directly into the system and can’t be modified to allow other means of input.” He flicked to a slide with a blueprint of the club on. “Since we know they’re using the desk, to get the upper hand and catch them surprised, we need to approach from these locations.” Dodo leant over to push a button on the tablet, small red circles appearing on the blueprint. </p><p>Dodo continued from Remi. “Our best bet is to approach through the museum section of the Planetarium in the upper maintenance rafters.” He pointed to an outlined square on the device. “Our entry point to the rafters is on the roof and through the maintenance door by the telescope. There should be a direct path to the club section from there.” The slide changed to show the club with some shadowy figures by the DJ’s deck. With another button press, an animation played of a small, cartoon DJ Subatomic Supernova coming in from the top, then jumping onto the figures and kicking them off the deck. The DJ concluded with “Once I have control over my equipment again, I can control my powers and attacks, as well as any object inside the club, similar to what I did when Bunkbed Junction attempted to hijack my concert.” The animation concluded with the figure’s unconscious on the ground, and the tiny DJ chucking stardust-like confetti over the room.</p><p>Neon J spoke up. “And who is going to go with you? We can’t have you going yourself. You’ll get killed…” He paused. “And I certainly can’t have my fellow DJ and friend falling to the depths of no man’s land like that.” The DJ blushed through his helmet slightly at the compassion the cyborg expressed. Supernova adjusted his tie. “Thank you for your concern NJ, but I have already made the decision to go with Bunkbed Junction. They are experienced with hijacking concerts, after all.” The manager seemed annoyed at the remark of going with another group, but nodded in agreement and understanding anyway.</p><p>The rock duo and Yinu emerged from the storeroom with Zuke carrying strings, attempting to unravel them. Mayday had left with Yinu’s hand in hers, the pianist clearly eager to play and learn with her new instrument. It became apparent that in there, Zuke had agreed to sort out the guitar, whilst May and Yinu would be having fret lessons. It was to much protest from Mayday who cared deeply for her guitar and her buddy, not wanting him to do all the work, but he insisted that it was okay, and said that getting more members of the team with fighting abilities was more of a priority. She had pouted to it, but agreed.</p><p>A short time passed in the HQ. After many games of Satu between 1010, with Eve joining in part way through (leading to lots of flirting from the boys), discussions between Team Sayu and how they were getting back their idol, and whatever deep, hushed conversation Neon J and Supernova had in the corner, Zuke had re-stringed Mayday’s guitar, announcing its completion with “There, all finished.” At the comment, May had sprung up from the floor where she was teaching Yinu, and practically pounced on Zuke to grab her guitar. Once reunited, she kissed it all over, then positioned it comfortably in her hands and played a solo, listening to the crisp spikes of rock that she conjured from her fingertips. Satisfied with its sound, she placed it on her back.</p><p>“Are we ready to go then?” Zuke asked, spinning his drumsticks between his fingers. His bandmate nodded, the two of them glancing to the DJ in the corner. They watched as Supernova wrapped an arm around Neon J’s neck, whispering something in his ear. Whatever it was, the cyborg nodded, and then the two of them parted ways with Supernova swaggering towards the duo.</p><p>“You ready, DSS? It’s time to get your district back.” May said. The DJ tweaked with his jacket and adjusted his headphones. “I suppose. Hopefully the damages will not be too drastic.” </p><p>“You’re sure you don’t need anymore help?” Proposed Neon. “I can send my troops with you for support.” ♪For support!♪</p><p>Supernova shook his head. “We should be sufficiently adequate enough to beat whatever scoundrel has taken it.” He smirked. “But I’ll take up your offer of support another time perhaps. I’m sure your very useful with your hands… for helping with my projects, naturally.” Understanding his message, the manager smirked back. </p><p>With a salute from Mayday, and a final appearance adjustment from Supernova, the fighting force left for Cast Tech; wishes of “good luck” and “stay safe” sounding from behind them as they proceeded to their mission. If the Soul Reapers had shown them anything, this was going to be one hell of a battle, especially with the DJ’s power in the hands of the enemy. But the worry and fear never made them falter as they made their way across the Plaza and to the entrance to Cast Tech.</p><p>The music coming from Club Planetarium was a good sign that their plan was going according to plan; the Estallia artist was exactly where they needed to be. A final unified nod from the group was the confidence they needed to take the final step into the district. In sync, their feet crossed the boundary.</p><p>Time for boss battle number two.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Today's song is DECO*27 - 'Pseudo Hope Syndrome' feat Hatsune Miku. Has no real relation to the chapter, I've just been listening to it lots. I can kinda imagine BBJ performing it; it has a nice guitar melody.</p><p>Fun fact! I do these suggestions because I remember a song suggestion in a fanfic I read ages ago, and from that, I became a fan of the artist and even went to one of their concerts within the next year of discovering the song. Even if most people never listen to the songs I suggest, some might, and from that people might discover something new that they enjoy.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. vs. LP (Part 1)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Wow, this became a long chapter, so I split it into two. Hardly takes away the suspense ;)<br/>Starting from next week, the new schedule will be a new chapter every Friday and a separate oneshot every other Sunday. The final every other day upload for this fic will be on saturday :(  <br/>Speaking of oneshots, an Eve/Zuke one shot called 'Coffee and Couture' will be coming out this weekend! Be sure to check it out!<br/>But anyway,<br/>BATTLE HYPE! BATTLE HYPE!<br/>Please enjoy and tell me what you thought!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Urgh… What is this monstrosity of electronic music?” </p><p>Bunkbed Junction and DJ Subatomic Supernova were taking caution as they wandered through the streets and tunnels Cast Tech. They were in enemy territory, and without a lot of knowledge about the artist who had taken over the district, the risks could be anywhere. There appeared to be no one around, but as the most wanted people in Vinyl City, it certainly paid to keep an eye out for danger. </p><p>Cast Tech didn’t look too different from its usual appearance as they observed their surroundings on their way to Club Planetarium. Unlike the other districts Bunkbed Junction had bear witness to when they first went to meet with Luthor, this district bared few markings of being taken over. About the only thing that was unique about Cast Tech now was the sickly blue and pink colour scheme that was illuminating every corner of the Tech Capital. It wasn’t easy on the eyes, jarring even, and yet it somewhat blended together perfectly, like the colours were one in the same. But it was strange that nothing much had changed. Perhaps the artist liked the space aesthetic of Supernova’s district? </p><p>The DJ had his hands over his ears and was attempting to drown out the music that was playing over the speakers. It wasn’t disco, much to the DJ’s disappointment, but it was still electronic which was a positive, and helpful nod as to what they were going to face once they were up against their enemy. Having listened to it all the way over to the Planetarium, Mayday categorised it as a sort of blend of indie rock and EDM; the electronic part amplifying the guitar and drumbeats. She was going to comment on the fact that theoretically, it should be easy. After all, with themselves and Supernova combined, the music was very similar to what they could produce together. However, the slight ringing in her ears reminded her of the last time she had expressed hubris against the Estallia artists, and it resulted in a thorough beating in which Bunkbed Junction probably wouldn’t have survived if the NSR artists hadn’t come to help.</p><p>After walking for a while, they reached the side of Club Planetarium. The music was much louder now, placing a little fear into the minds of the group. They couldn’t begin to worry now though, they needed to get inside first. </p><p>The outside of the club stretched high above their heads, its silver walls shinning subtlety in the lights around the venue. From here, they could see the tip of the telescope which appeared to be slightly off its typical position, which annoyed the DJ. The venue was set out for his use, and his use only. For some other simpleton to just change his perfect and precise charting for his beloved equipment… it made him furious.</p><p>The rock duo craned their necks to peer upwards, the DJ raising an eyebrow at the action. Mayday tilted her head left, and then right. “So… how do we get up there from down here?” She asked, pointing a finger to the gap where the telescope was emerging from. The DJ tutted and replied simply with “We take the lift.” His response made the duo look left and right, Mayday placing a hand over her eyes to cover them from the bright lights so she could get a better look. After a short pause, Zuke spoke up. “And where exactly is this lift? Because from what I can see, there isn’t anything here.” His bandmate voiced her agreement. </p><p>The DJ chuckled with amusement, their stupidity lightening his angry mood. “Tsk Tsk. You forget something very important, my dear Plutonians.” They watched as he placed a hand on a specific part of the venue wall and for it to light up under his palm. A light bar appeared beneath his digits and ran down his hand, then back up, before disappearing altogether. A moment of silence crossed between them, prior to a door sliding open beside Supernova. The duo applauded and oooed at the new unveiling. Supernova smirked. “I am a genius.” He waved an arm towards the opening, punctuating his action with “After you.” Mayday and Zuke hurriedly stepped into the space, DSS following behind, making sure the door shut itself once he had entered.</p><p>The lights inside the lift shone to life once it had sensed movement inside of it. It was small and cramped, clearly intended for just one or two people, and not two people and a DJ who never skipped arm day. Regardless of the space the riders had, the lift began to ascend to the roof, and therefore to the telescope maintenance door. It was only a short ride, the people inside barely having enough time to think. The lift announced their arrival with a little ‘ping’ and the doors parted to reveal the upper deck.</p><p>Up close, the telescope was humungous. Truly, seeing it from down on the ground did not provide a correct scale as to the gargantuan size that this beast was. Made of pure aluminium and coated a deep silver like the outer walls that protected it, the telescope reached high into the clouds and possibly even further than that if Bunkbed Junction had the ability to see it. It became apparent to the duo that the DJ took his work and his passion project very seriously, for this device must have costed a small fortune. Zuke personally thought he was compensating for something, but still found it impressive none the less.</p><p>They entered through the maintenance door and into the dark museum section of the Planetarium. Their visibility was dim, but being on the metal passageway above all the exhibits allowed Bunkbed Junction to see the collection of various statues, figures and charts that inhabited the building. It was like they were walking in the cosmos; little lights and glowing planets dangling from the ceiling, rotating around a large fiery sun whose light wasn’t on. It was mesmerising. The rock duo couldn’t understand all of it, nor could they name all the planets and moons that were there, but that hardly took away from the beauty of the scene.</p><p>“So, Supernova,” Zuke spoke up. “How exactly did you come up with the idea of mixing disco and astronomy? It’s not something that I would consider working together.” </p><p>The DJ rolled his eyes. “Of course you wouldn’t consider the possibility of them working. You don’t have the intelligence and knowledge that I possess.” He paused. “But, if I were to consider your question, I would answer by saying that I merely was fascinated by the two, and so in my spare time away from work, I would try to mix them together, to try to capture the symphony of the universe in a song.”</p><p>Zuke raised an eyebrow at the response, choosing to ignore the remark about his intelligence. “Work? I didn’t know you had a job before being a DJ.” </p><p>DJ Subatomic Supernova glanced at him in surprise. He assumed everyone knew of his accomplishments, but he supposed that if someone didn’t know about his achievements, it would be the two simpletons that lived in the sewers. But he digressed. “I was a lecturer at a university. I was teaching master’s students in ‘Science in Astrophysics and Cosmology’. I was a big name in the industry, even achieving a chief position in the Faculty of Astronomics. My work was published hundreds of times in various research journals. I was even nominated for a Noble Peace Prize.” He sighed, stopping in his tracks on the walkway and glancing around at the exhibits he created. </p><p>The duo glanced at each other, Zuke being the first to address him. “Was? Past tense? What happened?”</p><p>The DJ sighed again, flicking a small moon nearby his head. “When I pursued my concept of combing music and the stars, I was seen as a joke. ‘The idea was preposterous’, they said. I was considered no longer passionate enough about the solar system and its workings, and many other respectable names in the industry stripped me of a lot of my titles and credibility.” He paused. “About the only thing I kept prior to announcing myself as DJ Subatomic Supernova and starting my music career was my teaching job, which I still love greatly.” </p><p>Zuke stepped up to him, placing a hand on his bicep, sympathy lacing his voice. “Perhaps it’s for the best. After all,” He stuck his hands out to gesture to the whole museum. “Look at all you’ve have accomplished with NSR. Your music and your status are more powerful than… well, anyone. You don’t need some stuck-up nerds telling you what you should be doing.” He grabbed Mayday around the waist and brought her to his side. “Just like us, you’re doing what you love, even if people disagree with it.” May supported his statement with a thumbs up.</p><p>They were both idiots, completely below him in every way. Yet… it was heart-warming to hear the words Zuke was saying. Because it was true, he loved making music with all his heart. Even if the people he had worked with did not agree with his ways, there were lots of others who did, and as long as he was enjoying it, that was all that mattered. He smiled warmly under his helmet. Maybe the two of them were not as bad as he thought.</p><p>They heard a crash and some shouting erupt from the direction of the club.</p><p>After a quick nod between the three of them, they sped off along the maintenance walkway and towards where the enemy lay. </p><p>----------------------------------------------------------</p><p>The trio crept sneakily into the main club room, finally laying eyes onto the artist that had taken over DJ Subatomic Supernova’s District. Or, well… artists since there was more than one.</p><p>They were probably a similar age to Mayday and Zuke, perhaps a little younger than them. The assumption was they were related, with their appearance reflecting the others; the girl’s skin was blue with her hair in a pink ponytail and sunglasses on her head, and the boy’s skin was pink, no hair on his head, but a small blue goatee on his chin. Their outfits matched the other, neon yellow in colour. The girl dressed in a crop top and pencil skirt with knee-length black boots; her companion dressed similarly with a tank top and shorts and black trainers. </p><p>The artists were yelling at each other, the girl aggressively pointing at a smashed disco ball.</p><p>“Hermano! You fool! Do I look like AKIKO to you? I don’t wanna destroy the district. I like the spacey-techno aesthetic. Stop being an idiota and messing things up.” She spoke with an accent, rolling her R’s and strengthening some of her vowels. The boy rubbed the back of his bald head, kicking the pieces of the decoration around. “Lola, come on, it’s just one.” He pointed towards the ceiling where the planets rotated and the other disco balls hung. “There’s plenty more.”</p><p>The girl threw her hands up in frustration. “Just, you can clean it up, okay? I’m not wasting my power on something that’s your fault.” She stormed back towards the DJ Deck, placing herself down on its enormous seat and pulling out her phone. They looked towards the boy, who extended an arm out and began to levitate the pieces, sparks shooting from his fingertips. Once they were all up, he brought up his other arm and waved it towards the door of the club, which then opened. With the opening of his palm, the disco ball flung itself out the door, the door closing behind it. </p><p>Bingo. They knew what they were up against.</p><p>Supernova locked eyes with Bunkbed Junction and signalled for them to be quiet, bringing his finger to his lips. They nodded, and began to creep slowly forward on the maintenance walkway to the centre of the room, and therefore above the DJ decks where the girl sat. So far, everything was going to plan. They hadn’t been noticed by the artists and they were almost in position for their take over. The DJ was going to get his powers back, giving them a huge advantage over the two below them. Luthor and the Estallia Corporation was going to lose some power over the city today. They were going to have a simple and quick victory.</p><p>And then the maintenance walkway creaked.</p><p>The pink and blue duo turned to look directly at them on the overhead, a smirk forming on their faces when they saw the trio. The boy pointed his hands towards the right wall, the structure cracking as he did so. He forced his palms away from the right, wires shooting out in rapid succession and aiming directly towards the group. The DJ screamed as they began to run away from the onslaught, but they weren’t quick enough, the cabling wrapping around their legs and knocking them off their feet. They were brought higher by their captor, then flung across the room into the wall by the entrance to the building; the impact making imprints of their bodies in its concrete. After a few groans of pain from them, they began their decent to the floor, landing with a sharp thud.</p><p>The boy shook his arm out, thread of electricity sprinkling out onto the floor. “Well, what do we have here?” He asked, his voice thick with confidence. “A couple of party crashers? Or maybe some avid fans of our work?” His female friend had joined him, her hands on her slender hips.</p><p>The trio were disorientated as they went to stand up, Mayday shaking her head to bring her back to her senses. “Your work?” She looked through blurry eyes towards the boy, and then the girl. “I don’t even know who you are.”</p><p>The comment set their enemy back, their faces surprised by the remark. The girl swished her bangs. “Cielos, don’t know who we are? Have you been living under a rock, rubia?” The duo stood back to back with their arms folded; their heads held high looking towards the group. “We are the twins who will take your world through devastation. We are the ones who will shock you with our sick beats. We. Are. LP!”</p><p>Supernova raised his head at the announcement, something clicking in his head. He pushed his fingers to his temple, rubbing them out of irritation. “Oh good heavens…” He pointed a finger at the brother and sister. “You’re those twins who have been battling other DJ’s around the world aren’t you? The ones who have been cheating to win?” He folded his arms and shook his head in disapproval. “What was it again? Lola and Peet? You should leave the mixing to the mature professionals, children.”</p><p>Lola was outraged. “Cheating!? We haven’t been cheating! That’s lies!”</p><p>The DJ tutted. “I think electrocuting the opposition and paralysing them is classed as cheating.” He brushed himself off and adjusted his jacket. “Considering the music I’ve heard from you though, the only way you amateurs would have won would be by cheating. How disappointing for my establishment to fall into the hands of such infantile beings.”</p><p>Lola had turned from blue to red, fists clenched in anger, her jaw tight. Sensing his sister’s fury, Peet retorted with “That’s quite rich coming from you, old man. You boomers need to let the young take control. We don’t need senile bolsas de basura telling people what to do.”</p><p>Supernova was horrified. “How dare you disrespect someone such as myself! You know nothing about mixing and the work that goes into it!”</p><p>Peet smirked. “Oh yeah?” His hand filled with electricity, a microphone flying through the air and landing in his grip. The twin exchanged a nod with his sister, who ran back towards the DJ deck and clapped her headphones onto her head, positioning herself in the centre of the turntable. “How about we test that out?” </p><p>The blue twin scratched the record, a sphere of electric energy surrounding her. Peet span the microphone in his hands, turning to face the trio, who of which had already pulled out their instruments – minus the DJ. Mayday strummed her guitar. “Bring it, baldie!” </p><p>Their music filled the venue, the checkered ground changing to a blue and pink colour scheme before them, the overhead lights flickering to the beat. The male twin began to bob his head and move his body to the bass of the song, before breaking into the first rap bar, flicking his wrist towards the group. Sparks and electricity began twisting in the air and circling around the DJ and the rock duo.</p><p>“Split up!” Cried Mayday, sensing the danger and running to another part of the dance floor. The others followed suite, leaving the area before a vicious lightning strike hit the ground where they just stood. They couldn’t stay still, with more appearing around them wherever they went, rapid and in quick succession. May looked to the rapper in the centre of the floor whilst dodging yet another strike. She had to get close to him; the only question was how she was going to do it; especially when it felt like she could never catch a break with these bolts tracking their every move. Not to mention they had to take out his sister who was safe in her bubble, controlling the electro-rock music.</p><p>Wait, rock? May felt a light bulb turn on in her head. If there was any music that she knew how to play, it was rock. She glanced to her band mate and the DJ, who had met up on the other side of the room. She rolled out the way of a bolt and tried to make eye contact with the two boys. When Zuke locked eyes with her, she mouthed the words ‘Cover me’ to which he gave her an assured nod and turned to the DJ to repeat the message. She watched them part, heading as direct to the pink twin as they could. Peet took note of their storming, directing most of his attention towards them, and giving May just the opportunity she needed. </p><p>She veered past a lighting blast with her guitar in a readied position to play. Once it had gone, she played into a solo at the same kind of BPM as the music playing around her, making sure to play completely different notes to what the guitar in the song was doing. Whilst playing, she glanced towards Peet, who from the sudden concentration on Zuke and Supernova and the new guitar riff overlapping the song, lost track of where he was, stumbling over the words. The disco-rock squad watched the bolts attacking them lessen and took the moment as the time to strike back. </p><p>They ran towards the wordless twin with their weapons at the ready; Zuke with his drumsticks, May with her guitar and DJ Subatomic Supernova with one of the model planets he had grabbed from the side. The rapper panicked at the sight of the three of them marching towards him, rapidly trying to find his rhythm again and attempting to send out more bolts. But without the concentration on the beat his sister was playing, he lost control of his powers, merely swinging his arms in an effort to get something to come out. By the time he got his rhythm back, the trio were already right by him, swinging their weapons and making direct contact with his body. Peet soared through the air and right into the force field that was protecting his sister, the electricity shocking him and sending his body crashing to the floor, singing his clothes and his goatee.</p><p> </p><p>“Peet!” Cried Lola, rushing to help her brother from the floor; the music stopping and the force field disappearing. Bunkbed Junction and Supernova’s eyes widened at the chance to get the decks back, making quick pace to return the equipment to its rightful owner. Lola, seeing this, slammed her hand onto the ground. An earthquake erupted below the trio, losing their balance, and falling onto the ground. Lola, during the distraction, got her weakened brother up and shuffled him near the decks. She made sure he was leaning against the turn table for balance and let go of him. The blue twin flipped the vinyl over and slammed it back on the jog wheel. She slid the fader onto the side of the vinyl she had just put in and scratched it as it faded into the new song. The forcefield appeared again; smaller, but still just as deadly. </p><p>Lola looked lovingly to her twin, concern behind her compassion. She rubbed the ash out of his goatee. “You alright, Amigo?” Peet rubbed his head with a groan, but still voiced his positive wellbeing. Much to his surprise, his sister pulled him into a hug, her arms tight around his body. He reciprocated the squeeze, rubbing her back with his hand. They pulled back from the hug, a smile on both their faces.</p><p>“Hey! Stop hiding behind a bubble, you cowards!” Mayday bellowed, wobbling to her feet. Zuke could tell she was getting angry, especially with the occasion to attack gone because of an earthquake. It wasn’t the best of ideas to verbally insult the enemy though, the drummer remembering what had happened at their previous fight.</p><p>The twins glared at her, Lola cracking her knuckles and ready to cause some havoc. She took off her headphones and stuck them in the direction of her twin, who smirked at her and took them, placing them on his head. Lola jumped onto the dance floor and attracted the mic to her hands, clutching the handle once she made contact. She stood on the shaking floor without issue and appeared to be amused by the trouble the artists were having standing up. She sneered, speaking into the mic. “Having some issues standing, are we?” With a grin, she stomped her foot onto the ground and went into her first verse.</p><p>Supernova, being top heavy, wasn’t having the best of luck with keeping steady on his feet. It was bad enough the music was irritating and annoying, but to be struggling against these two beginners? It hurt his ego tenfold. He was THE DJ Subatomic Supernova. He didn’t fail… most of the time. He at least succeeded in areas where he typically excelled at, and making music was one of them. He couldn’t just sit back and let his rock friends do the work for him.</p><p>Lola stomped her foot again, the floor below the trio changing to a yellow colour. They looked beneath their feet, confused at the change. It was an attack on their eyes to be sure, but hardly something that would cause them harm.</p><p>But then the purpose behind the change was revealed. The squares around them disappeared in a flash, an infinite abyss laying below them. It was sudden and unexpected, but the DJ had been prepared for something like that and had managed to grab hold of a side prior to his falling. While he was relatively safe, the others weren’t; their screams ringing in Supernova’s ears. He peered back to see the Bunkbed Junction desperately trying to grab hold of anything that would stop their descent. With agility, he extended an arm to reach them, barely grabbing hold of Zuke who had Mayday by the neck of her guitar, the latter of which was koala-hugging her instrument for dear life.</p><p>The tiles by DSS’s fingertips changed to yellow, a sense of dread filling his body. He had to act fast, other wise they were done for. He glanced down at the rock duo, who were frantically trying to keep their grip on each other; Mayday pleading for Zuke to not drop her and Zuke responding with questions as to why he would ever do that. He glanced down at his arm, and then up above, then back down again. He had a solution.</p><p>He called to them. “I have a solution, my musical friends.” Bunkbed Junction looked up to him, locking eyes. “It’s a foolish one… but you will thank me later.” Before Zuke could even question his intentions, Supernova started his resolution.</p><p>Placing all his body weight into his muscles, the DJ started to swing Bunkbed Junction, building momentum into his arm. It came with angry and puzzled cries from them, but he ignored them and continued with his plan. He knew what he was doing. Once he felt he had enough drive, he brought his arm up and over his head, yeeting the pair over himself and onto the safe ground above, landing with a thud and an oof. </p><p>Zuke had landed on the dance floor with a roll, his body quickly capable of motion again. He quickly realised what Supernova was doing, hoisting himself to his feet as fast as possible so he could get over to the artist. He ran at a speedy pace, but it wasn’t quick enough; the squares fading away and the fingers of DJ Subatomic Supernova gripping onto nothingness as his body descended downwards. Zuke stopped with a jolt, whipping out his sticks and making his drums materialise as quick as he could. The moment they appeared, he pounded the sticks against the drum faces, hoping that his strength was enough to help the situation. He wanted something like a trampoline or a bungee cord or… anything that would bring their friend up from the hole. </p><p>But nothing seemed to happen. </p><p>He did it again. And again. And again. And again… Still nothing.</p><p>The dance floor changed to yellow under him, stopping him from playing his drums and forcing him dodge roll out the way. He tried again, this time playing a drum solo; his eyes closed in pleads and prayers. </p><p>But nothing seemed to happen. </p><p>The DJ was gone.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>LP's songs are based around the artists 'The Living Tombstone'. Mainly the songs:<br/>'The Living Tombstone - Drunk'<br/>'The Living Tombstone Remix - Sorry Jack'<br/>'The Living Tombstone - Cut the Cord ft. EileMonty'</p><p>The first two contain swearing if that concerns you, but other wise they're good songs!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. vs. LP (Part 2)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The DJ was gone.</p><p>Zuke fell to his knees, the sense of hopelessness surrounding him. He didn’t even know the DJ that well, but that hardly took away from the moment; he had friends, maybe even family that relied on him. What were they going to tell the fans? What were they going to tell the other NSR artists?</p><p>That he sacrificed himself for them. That’s what. And they weren’t going to let his sacrifice be in vain. It was time to get serious.</p><p>Zuke stood up, brushing himself off to face the singing twin in the centre of the room who was tapping her foot to the beat, completely unfazed by the crime she had just committed. He spun his drumsticks around his fingers, glaring at the blue twin. Sensing the anger coming from the drummer, the girl stomped her foot, a ring of squares around her turning yellow and dropping, isolating herself on a small piece of dance floor in front of the DJ deck. </p><p>Mayday rubbed herself off from the fall, groaning slightly. She began to get herself up, only for the injury on her stomach to start screaming in pain making her eyes well up with tears. The ground changed below her, informing her that she had to move or face a similar fate to their fallen ally. She took a deep breath and hoisted herself up quickly, pain shooting all over, but ensuring that she had evacuated from the danger. She glanced up to see Zuke running over to her with his arms out and ready to help her up. Once he reached her, he hooked his arms under hers and hoisted her up onto her feet, the floor beginning to change. They moved out the way before it fell.</p><p>“We’re gonna run out of floor at this rate. We gotta stop her.” Zuke stated. May painfully nodded to his comment. “But how? We don’t have any means of getting to her, and we don’t have any bullets to fire at her.” She responded. It was a puzzle for sure. If DJ Subatomic Supernova was here, they might have some ideas; maybe there was a gimmick to the building they could use?</p><p>May tapped his arm, grabbing his attention to see her pointing towards the planets that were rotating around the arena. He was confused by the gesture until she moved her finger downwards. He followed it and saw something that had never occurred to them before. The planets on the walls of the room reached all the way to the floor, their rotations lined together perfectly to form a sort of staircase up to the ceiling where the disco balls were reflecting the light, almost appearing to be sun-like collection of rays.</p><p>The building was set out like a massive solar system. They should have expected as much from the Astronomical genius.</p><p>The duo looked around to find the nearest planet to them. Ironically, it was Pluto, spinning at a fast pace towards their side of the room. They launched for it, grabbing hold of its body with shaky hands. Unsurprisingly, it was difficult to keep hold of a spherical object, but the two of them managed to do so, both of their fingers digging into the sides. They brought themselves up onto the dwarf planet and caught sight of their next destination, which was Neptune.</p><p>With a bend in the knees and arms outstretched, Bunkbed Junction propelled themselves towards the deep blue planet, landing on their feet this time thanks to the size of the planet being much larger than the previous. The size didn’t make it any more stable though. May began to swing her arms widely for balance, her feet slipping on the round surface. Zuke grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into his chest, the two embracing uncomfortably close for both of their liking. It was time to move on.</p><p>They continued with their ascent, glancing to the ground every now and then. The entire floor had almost disappeared by this point, the only bit left by the feet of the singer who had been mesmerised by the rock duos antics. It only occurred to Lola what they were doing when they had passed several planets already, jumping from Uranus, to Saturn, to Jupiter. </p><p>“No you don’t you pequeñas mierdas!” She shouted into the microphone. She reached her arm towards the cables that had been pulled from the wall with flashes of lightning springing from her fingertips. They came to life under her control, snaking slowly upwards, like they were struggling in their ascension. The singer swung her limb towards the climbers, the cables shooting off and aiming straight towards Bunkbed Junction.</p><p>They looked away from the wall at just the right time to see the wires firing aggressively right towards their faces. They cried out in horror and jumped promptly to the next platform, the wires piercing the wall where they just were. It was a lucky escape; they would have been impaled if they were still there. But the wires didn’t stop there, forcing themselves out of the concrete and aiming for their targets again. It was time to get going.</p><p>Mayday and Zuke bounced and hopped up the planets in rapid succession, the cords chasing them as they went. Lola tried to attack them every so often, accelerating her weapon to catch up with them, but the duo consistently dodged her attacks, aside from a few scrapes on the shoulder or the leg. With each acceleration, it tired her more, the force and weight of the wiring putting strain on herself and her powers. It didn’t help that by this point, she had stopped singing and was putting all her effort into stopping them; the only source of power she was building up was from her brother’s mixing, who of which was also weakened and putting out less powerful beats to back her. </p><p>They were almost at the top now, climbing up to Mars, Earth, Venus, and finally, they had Mercury in sight. Just one more to go before they were in position.</p><p> “May, lookout!” </p><p>Lola had tried one last attack on the Bunkbed Junction, chucking her arms over to the right and shifting the wires for a penetrating attack. It was much slower than before, her breathing heavy and her movements sluggish. That didn’t stop the action from being deadly, the cables shooting at the duo with murderous intent. Zuke dropped and lay flat on the planet, pulling Mayday down with him by her ankle so she was dangling off the side. The attack shot over Zuke’s head, scraping the tips of his hair before falling limp and plummeting to the ground. From her upside-down position, Mayday looked at the blue singer. She had fallen to her knees with sweat dripping from her forehead and her hair stringing out from her ponytail. She was struggling to stand back up.</p><p>May was lifted up back onto the planet by Zuke and up to her feet. They looked towards their next step up, stretching their necks to view it. Mercury was much higher than the other planets they had traversed so far; it was uncapable of just being jumped to. </p><p>“We need to get there now.” May stated. She pointed to the struggling twin. “Lola is weakened, this is our best chance without any flying or shocky things coming for us.” A pause wavered between them as they thought about what to do. May broke the silence. “Yeet me.” </p><p>Zuke was surprised by the request. “Yeet you? Up there?” May nodded and responded with “We can take a hint from Supernova. He saved us by doing that, we can finish this by saving ourselves.” Once explained, Zuke voiced his agreement. “Right,” May continued. “I’m gonna count to three, and on three that’s when you play, got it?” Zuke agreed, grabbing hold of his drumsticks, and letting his drums form. May shook herself off, then got into a sprinting position. She raised three fingers for him to see. She dropped one. Then the next. And finally, when the third finger dropped, she bounded off the planet, pushing off from the top to leap as far as she could. Zuke was ready, bringing his sticks down onto the drums was a slam and letting the bass form into an air pocket under Mayday. She fell onto it, her weight forcing the air downwards like elastic, before it propelled her upwards at great speed, like she was a pellet in a slingshot.</p><p>She screamed, not expecting the velocity that she was going to fling at nor how high she was going to go. She soared past Mercury and straight towards the ceiling. She wasn’t going to let herself hit the roof though. She steeled her face and flipped her body around, somersaulting in the air so her feet were overhead and heading towards the ceiling. Her feet touched solid terrain, so she bent her knees and pushed off, heading right back down in the direction of the planet. With a satisfying thud, she hit the dark grey coloured planet, her arms wrapping around the sphere to stable herself. She got to her feet carefully, ensuring she was securely balanced on the orb.</p><p>Mayday set her sights on the blue twin who had manged to stand up again with a visible look of pain on her face. May equipped her guitar and took a deep breathe. She had this.</p><p>The guitarist ran to the end of the planet and jumped off, strumming her guitar with all her strength at the decoration as she left. Her playing pushed her out further than she could have alone, aiming directly for the leftover floor which Lola was on. For a moment she panicked, unsure if she was going to make it, but when the twin turned to look up at her with fear in her eyes, she knew she was right on target.</p><p>Mayday gripped the neck of her guitar tightly and brought it above her head as she began her descent, ready to slam it right onto Lola. She screamed a terrifying war cry as she strengthened her grasp. Meer inches above the singer, May swung her guitar straight down and directly onto the girls head. She was sent furiously into the ground face first, causing a dent where she collided and shattering her sunglasses. May stumbled back from the impact, faltering and falling to the floor.</p><p>The music cut out, Peet chucking off his headphones to land on the deck, and bounding towards his fallen companion. The ground reappeared again but with its signature Supernova colour scheme returned. Peet slid his way to his sister’s side and lifted her off the ground. “Hermana! Speak to me!” He turned her body over to see her face; her bangs were messy and strewn over her forehead with scratches and cuts decorating her cheeks. Her nose was bleeding and running down her face. She was conscious, but in a terrible state. She spoke in a broken voice.</p><p>“Idiota… the turntables…”</p><p>Her brother ignored the comment, bringing her body close to his and embracing her in a hug. “What’s the point if we’re getting hurt by owning them? I wanna make music but I don’t wanna see us get hurt…”</p><p>She shoved him off of her and attempted to get to her feet, only to see the base of a guitar pointed towards her face. She followed the guitar up to the face of its owner, Mayday glaring at her. “It’s over LP. We’re taking back this district for NSR and getting DJ Subatomic Supernova his place back on the charts.” Zuke supported her threat with drumsticks in hand.</p><p>The sister laughed painfully. “Oh right, getting it back for the DJ that fell to his death. What heroes you are. Verdaderamente.” The girl lunged for Mayday’s guitar, gripping the body and pulling it towards herself. May dug her heels into the floor. “Hey! Let go!” Zuke grabbed his bandmate around the waist to help, pulling along with her. The other side did the same, Peet gripping hold of his sister, but more so to get her off the instrument. The two duos clashed, each side giving their remaining strength.</p><p>“What are you even going to do with my guitar?! You don’t play!” Mayday cried.</p><p>“You wouldn’t understand! If we go back to Luthor with nothing, we’ll lose our label!” </p><p>Mayday was taken back by the response. “I’m sorry, you’ll lose what?!” In her surprise, her hold loosened, the guitar slipping threw her fingers and flying into the hands of Lola. The twin ran unsteadily back away from the rock duo, claiming her prize greedily in her hands. “Hermano, come on! If we get out now, we can still keep Luthor happy!” </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“No. I don’t believe that you will be going anywhere.”</p><p>The Bunkbed Junction and the LP turned to look at the voice who had just spoken. Lola and Peet’s faces dropped as their defeat fully dawned on them. It was unexpected; Mayday and Zuke completely in denial at the sight. None the less, their faces lit up in delight at the image of the DJ seemingly back from the dead standing over his DJ Deck. He looked worse for wear with his helmet cracked, his clothes dirty and for some reason a banana peel on his head; but being dirty was certainly better than being dead. </p><p>Lola glanced between Supernova and the spot he had fallen from, making a double take on his existence. “B-But… How? I saw you fall!”</p><p>DJ Subatomic Supernova shook his head and wiggled his finger. “Tsk Tsk Tsk. You’re forgetting that I own this establishment. Of course I would know that the rubbish dump is below us. We merely just open up the floor after we close. You’d be surprised the quantity of trash that people drop.” He picked the peel off his head and chucked it away. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to have my district without interruptions.” The DJ pulled a vinyl up from below his deck, taking it out of its sleeve and spinning it in his fingers.</p><p>Lola dropped the guitar and began sprinting towards the Supernova with her arms outstretched. The DJ payed no notice to her as she accelerated towards him, screaming for him to stop. He placed the vinyl very slowly onto the turn wheel, and then shifted the fader to the side. He chuckled, looking towards his rock friends. “What is it that you two say again?” He adjusted his headphones and positioned his hands onto the record. “Oh, that’s right. It’s…”</p><p>BUNKA!</p><p>JUNKA!</p><p>SHAKALAKA!</p><p>BAM!</p><p>The DJ scratched his record with dramatic flair, his power dispersing in the form of a massive shockwave the sent LP flying into the wall, leaving an impression of their bodies in the wall; a fitting revenge for the two of them. Supernova’s music erupted out the speakers into the club, the area around the trio seemingly lighting up, like the District was glad the Astronomer was back in his rightful place; a fresh new life to Cast Tech.</p><p>LP crashed to the ground and collided with a pleasant thump. Bunkbed Junction made their way over to them, each extending out a hand to help them up. They begrudgingly took the offer, dragging themselves to their feet. Peet was puzzled by the gesture, asking “Why would you help us? We tried to kill you.”</p><p>Zuke shrugged. “That’s kinda our thing. Helping musicians get to their full potential and what not.” May butted up next to him and stuck up her pinkie finger. “We help the little guys!” Zuke stook his finger up as well. </p><p>“Well, we’re hardly the little guys. We’re on of Estallia’s top artists.” Peet responded.</p><p>Mayday stuck out her tongue. “You’re still going to work with Luthor? Didn’t you just say you’ll lose your label if you go back empty handed?” She folded her arms. “That doesn’t sound like the kind of label I’d want to be signed on.”</p><p>The mention of it made the reality dawn on the LP. This was it. They had lost. They were already on thin ice with Luthor, but now they had lost him the Cast Tech district. They had one job, and they failed. They’d be thrown to the curb if they faced him now. Oh god. They had to face him; They were dead meat. Lola started to freak out, gripping and pulling her hair from the stress, pacing back and forth. It wasn’t for her brother, pulling her into a hug, she would have lost it.</p><p>“Hey. Relájate. If we get our asses handed to us… well… at least it’ll be together. We might lose our label, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop making music.” Peet spoke softly.</p><p>“I believe I may be of assistance to you.” </p><p>DJ Subatomic Supernova had moved from the decks and approached the duo, his arms linked behind his back. He cleared his throat. “While I still believe that your style of mixing is inferior… I can’t deny that you at least have some miniscule quantities of talent in your DJing. Even as you attacked us, I could feel the passion behind your words, and the skill you both possessed whilst on the turntables. Dare I say, I was almost enjoying your music, which is indeed a rarity.” He extended a large hand out towards them. “If you wish to continue with your work from someone far superior than Luthor, I would be willing to accept some… apprentices. Someone I can assist in making true music for all the galaxy to listen to. You also appeared to be fascinated by my astronomical work, which I would be more than thrilled to elaborate more about.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Only if you accept my offer, naturally.”</p><p>LP glanced at each other, then back towards the enormous hand before them. The twins hesitated, unsure of the offer. Lola spoke up. “You won’t ditch us if we mess something up?” The DJ shook his head. “On Jupiter’s moons, no! Learning from your mistakes is one of the greatest things you can do. No one is perfect…” He looked to Bunkbed Junction who bobbing their heads to the beat of the song, Mayday desperately trying to resist the urge. “Even someone infinitely intelligent such as myself had to learn that music is for everyone, not just those of the elite.” He moved his hand closer to the pair. With one last glance between them, Lola gripped hold of one of the DJ’s fingers and shook it. Supernova retracted his hand, turning his back on the twins and looking towards his decks. “Which brings me to your first assignment.”</p><p>Peet threw up his hands, the two of them groaning. “Already? We only just agreed to it!”</p><p>Supernova chuckled. “Do not worry, it should be for a short while.” He pulled something from his pocket and placed it into Peet’s hands. The pink twin raised an eyebrow at the object: a set of keys with a little spaceship dangling off of it. “Umm… you want us to look after your car?”<br/>
The interpretation made the DJ laugh out loud a deep and throaty laugh. “No, although close. Those are the keys to the Club Planetarium.” DJ Subatomic Supernova walked to stand by Mayday and Zuke, placing an arm around the two of them. “I’m going to be busy with some highly crucial work with my fellow artists, and since you already seem to know the place, I’d like you to look after it while I’m gone.”</p><p> </p><p>LP’s mouths were agape. Lola was shaking her head. “Esperá, you know we only just converted to your side, right? How can you trust us?”</p><p>Supernova put a finger to his chin and hummed. “I suppose I can’t. It’s perplexing; It is almost like I would have to assign the two of you a task to determine whether or not you were.” He grinned and nodded at the duo, prior to making his way towards the entrance of the building. “The only thing I demand from you is to revert the colours of my district back. Pink and blue isn’t the style that I work with.” He pushed the double doors open, motioning to the rock band that it was time to leave. “I will be back soon to grab a few things, I suggest you clean up anything I have not already seen.” The pink and blue twin gave each other a look of horror, then ran off to go who knows where. Before they disappeared around the corner, Lola stopped and shouted “Thank you Mr Supernova, sir! We didn’t mean what we meant before by the way! We’ve been listening to you for years! You were the person who inspired us to start!” She winked and waved goodbye as she turned the corner, disappearing out of sight.<br/>
DJ Subatomic Supernova didn’t want to admit it, but he was a little flattered. It was almost amusing to him. He went from teaching astronomy to master’s students, to teaching only a few with a lot less respect in his field; and now he was here, teaching passionate students once again who respected him in a different field from before. How the tables had turned.</p><p>“Let’s meet back with the other artists at the sewers, shall we?”</p><p>--------------------------</p><p>Luthor was sat in his office chair, a book in one hand and a cup of tea in his other. He was alone in his office; no one could talk to him without an appointment. He would never allow some inferior being to talk to him that easily. The only people he allowed in his office were his secretary and some of his artists. Not all of them; he personally considered a few to be beneath him and could not fathom the idea of interacting with them directly. They might have been signed on his label, but that did not mean he had to talk to them.<br/>
The room was dark and deathly silent. The only light in the room was the moonlight through the large windows and the small lamp that he had on his desk. The loudest thing in the room was his breath; not even a fly’s wings beating were heard. It was relaxing; just how he liked it.</p><p>A soft knock on the wooden office door broke through the silence, Luthor groaning at the interruption. He responded to the sound with “Come in.” He didn’t even look up from his book as the small female with a large pink beehive, glasses and a navy-blue suit hesitantly walked towards the Leader of Estallia, a tablet pressed to her chest. She took her place a safe distance away from Luthor, ensuring there was at least the desk and then some between herself and the daunting man. She waited for him to address her, her eyes darting around the room. She seemed a little on edge.</p><p>Luthor sighed and placed his cup and his book down. He set his elbows on his desk and interlocked his finger. He let his head sit on his wrapped hands. He smiled sinisterly towards the lady. “Tell me Betty, what is so important as to interrupt me during my reading time?”</p><p>The secretary gulped and pulled her collar away from her neck. “Well, um… Sir…” With shaky fingers, Betty turned the tablet around to face its screen towards her boss. On it was a diagram of the districts, all except one being lit up. “We’ve had a… um… predicament with Cast Tech…” She spoke with stuttered words. “It appears the LP twins have lost it…” She retracted herself into her arms, shielding from any attacks the boss could through at her. To her surprise, he did nothing. Luthor leant back in his chair and moved his hand to grab his cup of tea once again. He brought it to his lips and took a deep sip, draining the cup of all its contents. Seeing no backlash, the lady continued.<br/>
“We also have… uh… Truss… in the lobby. He says his band have ditched him to join the opposition…”</p><p>Luthor placed his drink onto the table. He stood up from his chair and steadily strolled around the desk, sitting himself on the edge of it, using his hands to prop himself up. Betty took a step back to maintain distance and gulped from fear. Her boss was very intimidating, his reputation preceding him. “Betty,” He spoke with a smooth British accent. “Please make a call for some of our smaller artists.” He moved his hand to play with a small figure he had on his desk. “Perhaps our two winged friends will be of assistance to the disgraced rocker somehow. I’m sure we have something we can offer them.”</p><p>The secretary nodded her head swiftly in response, already taking a note down on her tablet before pausing. “And what about the district, Luth- Sir?”</p><p>The head of Estallia chuckled. “We still have another four, do we not? This is merely a small set back in our proceedings.” He pushed off the desk and walked towards the window to stare at his city. “Besides, without the former head of NSR, there’s not a lot that they can do besides challenge our artists. Even if we lose, we still win.”</p><p>Betty was unsure about it all: the takeover and their capturing of Tatiana. It felt wrong to her. NSR wasn’t doing as well as their company was, but that hardly meant they had to take control of it. The Estallia artists didn’t care too much, so long as they got something out of it and could do whatever they wanted. What was Luthor’s intentions by doing this though? It’s not like he had new platform to perform on. In fact, Betty had never seen him perform before in the ten years she had been at the company. It was all very suspicious.<br/>
She realised she hadn’t reacted to Luthor’s words and abruptly voiced her accord with uncertainty. She watched as he went back to his seat and picked his book up again. “Betty, another cup of tea please. Other than that, you’re dismissed” Upon request, she hastily tucked the tablet under her arm and picked up the cup from his desk, making sure get out of his personal space fast.  She span on her heels to leave the room and headed towards the door to the office, before stopping in her tracks upon realisation. She turned to face him. “Oh… I forgot to mention… your daughter called… You should probably call her back…” </p><p>He didn’t even glance up from his page. </p><p>Betty took the silence as her time to leave, turning to face the door once again. She pushed the door open with her empty hand and left Luthor alone in his office.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>No song suggestion today because I put them in last chapter, but I would like to plug my Discord 'ReneeDekobora#7708'. If people want it, I can start a server for people to talk either about the story, or just random stuff in general. (*cough* I also have all my classes online this year and my friend ditched me to live with her boyfriend hah so I'm a little lonely hah *cough*)<br/>BUT, other than 'Coffee and Couture' coming out on Sunday, next upload is next Friday! Sorry for the big gap, but studies come first; especially when I have to pass first semester to be able to go on my year abroad next year.<br/>I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please tell me what you thought in the comments!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. A bat trapped at the end of an alley</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There was some demand for a Discord, so I made one! https://discord.gg/CbpG594. It's called MijikaiRTR and anyone can join. If you can't seem to get on, my discord is 'ReneeDekobora#7708' <br/>Speaking of which, For a much later chapter I need lots of characters. so I'm asking people for their NSR OCs! If you would like to be in the story at some point, please join and send a description or a drawing of your OC. I also like looking at people's art. I'm going to try to include as many as I can.<br/>I wanted to take some focus away from Mayday and Zuke this chapter, since they're the main characters.<br/>Please enjoy and tell me what you thought! I hope to see you in the discord!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sound of feet on the metal ladder in the sewers is what alerted the NSR artists to the return of the triumphant trio. Mayday, Zuke and DJ Supernova was greeted in the HQ to cries of joy and praise; they had just retrieved a piece of their city back from the Estallia Corporation, as well as some new allies for the road ahead, even if LP weren’t going to fully help them get the Vinyl City back. </p><p>“Mayday!” screamed Yinu upon seeing her new instrument buddy return. The young girl ran over to the guitarist and wrapped her arms around her leg, her small size making any chance of hugging her torso impossible. May laughed happily and placed a hand on head of the pianist. After Yinu removed herself from Mayday’s leg, May bent down to the child’s eye level so she could talk to her directly. “Hey Yinu! You wanna practice some more?” Yinu aggressively nodded her head yes, ever eager to learn a new skill and further her prodigy status. May smiled and stuck out her hand for the pianist to take. “You can help me heal up then. The quicker I’m better, the quicker we can start.” Yinu took Mayday’s hand and practically dragged the older girl through the Sewer HQ towards the couch so she could assist her teacher in getting better.</p><p>Mayday wasn’t the only one to be greeted with a hug. DJ Subatomic Supernova was too, robotic arms running towards him and embracing his large body; the arms barely able to curl around his broad torso. Neon J was practically sobbing into his chest; if the cyborg had tears, his clothing would have been soaked. In response to the affection, the DJ brought his arms around metal body of his fellow artist and lightly squeezed. Neon spluttered something along the lines of “I was worried about you, lieutenant! I thought you weren’t going to return! I’ve had it happen too many times before, I didn’t want it to be you too…” Supernova smiled, patting the caped back of the manager. “That was awfully foolish of you to think such an absurd thing. For I am THE DJ Subatomic Supernova!” He pulled Neon off of his body, his massive hands lightly gripping the arms of the cyborg. “I never fail in my mission.” To his words, Neon wiped away digital tears and nodded. </p><p>A camera click sounded to the side of the Space-Cyborg duo, causing them to turn their heads to investigate the noise. It was 1010, White with a phone camera in his hand and the rest of the boys crowded around with amused expressions. Blue rolled his eyes and pushed his shades up his nose. “You could have looked even a little better, Boss. You look like a mess in this.”</p><p>Green pouted and flicked Blue’s hair. “You’re just jealous.” Green pulled the phone from White’s hands and brought it close to his heart, sparkles in his perfect eyes. “I think this picture shows the true emotions from Dad, even the raw romance that’s flowing through his body whenever he sees DSS.”</p><p>Neon and Supernova blushed, prior to Neon exploding with embarrassed rage and storming towards 1010, some not very PG words coming from his digital lips. The boys ran away from him, trying to ensure their manager didn’t get the chance to delete the photo. It amused Supernova; It reminded him of a bickering mother and some trouble-making sons. He wondered if he could ask the robots for the picture later - For documentary reasons, naturally.</p><p>Zuke patted the DJ on the shoulder, trying to ignore the scene that just unfolded. “I’m gonna go join Mayday in fixing up.” He looked towards his band mate, who by this point was covered from head to toe with plasters and bandages, Yinu trying to help but not fully understanding how much help was needed. “You need any upkeep or are you good?” Supernova moved his hand to touch the crack in the centre of his face. He hummed in thought, before responding with “No thank you. There isn’t much plasters can do for me. I must retrieve a new helmet from my workshop.” Zuke nodded and made his way over to the now mummified Mayday, her arms tightly held against her body with bandages. He was going to be there for a while.</p><p>Remi approached Supernova, a tablet in his hands and multiple wires of different diameters hanging on his arms. “I advise we head back up to the surface so we can reroute power. I can’t imagine it’s going to be long before Luthor finds out we’ve gotten back Cast Tech.” The rest of Team Sayu came up behind him carrying similar pieces of equipment and wires which Supernova assumed they had raided from the storeroom. The DJ grabbed some of the wires from Remi. “Then go we shall. I require a new helmet from my Planetarium; we can get some more efficient equipment whilst we’re there. I’ve already asked my apprentices to tidy up for our arrival.”</p><p>The Sayu team glanced up at him with raised eyebrows, Sofa being the first to respond. “Apprentices?</p><p>---------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>“We made sure everything was thoroughly clean, Sir!.... Umm… Sir? Do we call you that? Or are we on first name basis now or…”</p><p>Team Sayu and DJ Subatomic Supernova had made their way over to Cast Tech to grab any remaining supplies they would need to divert power from the Grand Qwasa. They had left anything they could scrounge from Bunkbed Junction’s storeroom in the Plaza centre with the Soul Reapers guarding the equipment. While they did own both Cast Tech and Festival Plaza, that didn’t mean they could put their guard down; the possibility of Luthor sending another artist to reclaim what Estallia considered was theirs was in the back of their minds. Even if the artists appeared to have similarities to the NSR artists, they had already seen that they weren’t to be underestimated.</p><p>Upon their arrival, they we’re greeted and taken inside by LP, the twins desperately showing to the DJ that the Club was incredibly tidy. He seemed pleased with their work, ignoring some scratches on the walls here and there. After his inspection, he led the groups to a back room of the Planetarium, all kinds of technological wizardry covering the floor. Of course, the new artists walking with them startled Team Sayu, who were confused who the two strangers were. They exchanged pleasantries and introduced themselves to one another on the way. Upon discovering that the teens in front of them were Sayu, Lola and Peet were shocked. </p><p>“So, esperá, You four are a virtual mermaid idol that owns one of the districts of Vinyl City and, despite your age, you have millions of fans?” Lola asked. The team nodded, causing the blue twin to pout. “Well if this doesn’t make me feel bad about my job. I’m like ten years older than you, but you’re doing just as good as we are.”</p><p>Peet rolled his eyes at his sister, before turning to question the Sayu team. “I take it you can’t be Sayu without power.” The teens faces fell; just thinking about not having their persona was sad enough… They really missed her. It was strange really. Sayu was the collective work of Tila, Remi, Dodo and Sofa; she was nothing more than what they made her to be. And yet… it felt like they had lost a dear friend. She another member of their group, just as much as any of them. </p><p>Sensing the sour mood, Peet interjected the silence with “Well, hopefully with the stuff from the Boss… Uh… Supernova?... DJ?.... Whatever; you can get her back by using Cast Tech’s power.” He paused. “Until you get your district back anyway.”</p><p>The mention of Akusuka led Tila to think, questioning the twins with “Do you know who’s in charge of the next district from this one? You were a part of Estallia, surely you would know, right?”</p><p>They watched as the twins exchanged a glance then pondered in thought. After a moment had passed with Supernova emerging from a large pile of tech with a kind of generator, Peet responded with “You know, I don’t think I actually know any artists that are signed onto the Estallia Corporation.”</p><p>The answer made the NSR artists that were present pause with amazement. The DJ almost dropped the generator out of shock. “You don’t know any? At all?” Asked Supernova, checking that the equipment was okay. The twins thought for a moment more, before Lola responded. “No, not really. Luthor never really let us interact with each other. I think something about ‘Ruining your genre’ or whatever.” She frowned. “Which now that I think about it, is kinda stupid.” </p><p>Peet continued his sister’s thought. “About the only one I know would be AKIKO, who I think has taken over the robot- cyber Tech-like District. But even then, we don’t know too much about her.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Although I can’t imagine you would have a problem with her, she’s probably already been sent back home; she doesn’t get along with Luthor, and he hates people not seeing eye to eye with him.” Lola followed on from him, murmuring under her breathe “She is hot though, I can tell you that much.” leading to her brother smirking, and ruffling her hair.</p><p>Team Sayu sighed. So in the end it turned out they were going to go into Akusuka blind, without any idea of who was dominating their district for them. It didn’t help that their plan to get Sayu back wasn’t fool proof. There was so much that could go wrong; Sayu could be corrupted, she could be stuck in an animation loop, she might not be compatible with the motion suit anymore – Hell, they might not be able to get her back at all! It was stressful for them all, but none the less, they had to at least try. They needed some way to fight.</p><p>Team Sayu and LP grabbed anything the DJ instructed them to grab from the back room, with himself announcing he would be joining them soon at the Grand Qwasa, before disappearing up some stairs in the Planetarium. Knowing what to do, Team Sayu lead LP to their destination with the equipment, walking over the connecting bridge and into the plaza where the Soul Reapers sat at the base of the city’s power source. The boy group saw them with the heavy tech and ran over to help them with some of it; an awkward introduction between the two former Estallia groups ensuing as a result. They carried the gear over and dropped it by the Grand Qwasa. Remi, Dodo and Sofa went to work on connecting it all up. They knew they couldn’t complete it fully without Supernova’s help, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t get as far as they could without it.</p><p>In the meantime, Tila watched the Soul Reapers and LP discuss their experiences in Estallia, recalling the good and the bad. By the sounds of it, Luthor wasn’t the best of bosses; his leadership more like a dictatorship. The band mentioned a couple of times where they were forced to stop playing in certain areas near the Estallia home building as well as strict regulations over the music they had to produce and how often they had to produce songs. Lola and Peet told of a similar experience, the two of them having to change their music type to accommodate something that Luthor liked more. Apparently, he still didn’t enjoy their music, but he deemed it acceptable for them to continue. Tila shivered at the thought of it; working for Estallia didn’t sound like a fun experience at all.</p><p>The conversation was broken up by footsteps; DJ Subatomic Supernova emerging from Cast Tech with a fresh new helmet that was polished to perfection. “Ah, I see you’ve made a good start on the rerouting already. Marvellous.” He started helping them with the job, making quick work to install the remaining wires and generators onto the Grand Qwasa. He dusted his hands and announced, “It is finished.” With a simple button press, the group saw Cast Tech light up as bright as ever, spotlights traveling through the sky, and the screens of the district playing the usual advertisement for Supernova’s “One night” show. It brought joy to the NSR artists, a sign of normalcy returning to their city.</p><p>The DJ addressed the members of Team Sayu. “I think it would be wise to test out your device on the Qwasa to investigate if it’s possible to get Sayu back.” </p><p>Remi pulled the tablet and brought it next to the Grand Qwasa. He tapped a few things on his screen before grabbing one of the leftover cables and plugging it into the gadget. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he tapped on the screen a little more, going through folder after folder of different things. Eventually he stumbled upon a program marked ‘Sayu3_3050_03’. He took a deep breathe, then pressed it; praying for the worst to not happen. After some noises from the tablet, a software booted up on the screen causing the designer to beam with joy, his team joining in. She was downloading! It was working! They were going to have their idol back!</p><p>Sayu: 1%. Estimated time: 999999999999999 Hours.</p><p>Their faces swiftly dropped. They were right, Sayu was downloading, but at the rate she was they weren’t going to see her till long past their lifetimes. They sighed in defeat, the rest of the artists too afraid to say anything as to make them feel worse. It was progress, but it was going one step forward, and a million steps back.</p><p>Supernova placed a hand on Remi’s shoulder. “Perhaps once we have your district back, or even all the districts, it might go faster. Don’t give up hope just yet, little milky ways. If anyone can figure out how to speed up the process,” He pointed a finger at the four of them. “It is you.”</p><p>His words were somewhat encouraging, even if being called ‘milky ways’ was a little strange. It certainly gave them courage to be complimented by Supernova; he usually only praised himself. It was a nice surprise to see his changing form.</p><p> </p><p>“SOMEONE HELP!” </p><p> </p><p>The artists turned towards the direction of the voice. Someone was in trouble. With a silent agreement, the group bounded towards the sound with weapons at the ready. Perhaps it was another Estallia artist? That was fast consider they had only just taken back Cast Tech; Luthor had connections it seemed. Regardless, they had ten artists altogether, so they had the advantage; even if Sayu was still downloading.</p><p>They sped down an alleyway with Supernova leading the pack. After a few corner turns here and there, they emerged around a bend to see the threat and the victim that had cried for help.</p><p>“Truss! Step away from her!” Screamed Fret, the lead guitarist of the Soul Reapers.</p><p>At the far end of the alley, Truss stood over a young girl who didn’t look more than maybe ten or eleven. She was cowering in fear, her hands shielding her head and her body trembling. She was crying, high-pitched sobs coming from her quivering lips. She was clearly defenceless against the singer that towered over her.</p><p>Upon hearing his name, Truss turned to view who had called it, frowning when he saw that his former band and the DJ who had left a small scar on his face from a thrown vinyl were ready to fight at the only exit to the alley. The singer scoffed. “Oh look, if it isn’t the Soul Losers and the disgraced DJ. Don’t you have some districts to be taking or whatever? I’m kinda busy here.” His target sobbed harder.</p><p>The bassist, Bridge, aligned his fingers along the neck of his bass. “Oh, We’re the losers? Look who’s bullying a young girl. If anyone here is a loser, it’s the guy who feels the need to verbally attack and harass the people around him so he can feel better about himself.”</p><p>Truss twitched at the insult; a nerve clearly touched from the words. He scowled at the group before flicking his thick black hair dramatically. “Fine, I’ll leave her alone.” He stepped away from the girl. “This isn’t because there is lots of you, by the way. I just made the decision to let her be because I’m such a good person.” The artists didn’t unarm, weary that the rocker was lying to them. Upon seeing that they weren’t going to let their guard down, Truss rolled his eyes and sighed. “I’m going, Okay?!” In an instant, a wall of fire wrapped around the singer, engulfing him in flames. Once they faded, the group saw the Truss was gone. In all their minds, they knew he’d be back.</p><p>The group returned their weapons to rest and sighed with relief, Fret punctuating the sigh with “Well, that was a little easy… Almost too easy.”</p><p>His comments were quickly dismissed, Team Sayu running towards the girl who was on the floor and wiping away tears. Tila bent down with a gentle hand extended in offering. She spoke with a soft voice. “Hey. It’s okay now. He’s gone.” </p><p>The girl lunged to wrap her arms around Tila, crying into her hoodie. She spoke cutely and with innocence lacing her voice; clearly a child as they thought. “It was so scary!!!” She cried out into the fabric. Tila placed a comforting hand on the girls back and rubbed. It was doing this that she took note of the young girl’s appearance: She was small, possibly somewhere in the same size as Yinu, with baby pink shoulder length hair and pale grey skin. She wore a dark grey dress that Tila associated with something like Lolita fashion, with the dress having white puffy sleeves, dark purple bows and lacing, and a puffed-out skirt with small little bats on the ends of the cloth. To go with the ensemble, the girl had knee length white stockings, and small grey slip on Velcro shoes with small little bats on the tip of the toes. To top it off, she wore a black head band with bouncy bows in the centre and, strangest of all, little fake bat wings on her back.</p><p>After a small moment, the girl detached herself from Tila and wiped her tearful eyes and snotty nose. The other artists joined with them at the end of the alley, concerned about the safety of the girl. DJ Subatomic Supernova pulled out a handkerchief and presented it before the girl, who took it and blew her tiny nose. She handed it back to the DJ who then reached a finger out to wipe away a small tear and asked her “Did the bad man do anything to you?” in as soft of a tone the well-spoken man could do.</p><p>The girl shook her head, her hair flying up around her face. “No. He was just really mean to me.” She pointed a little arm towards the ground where she was cowering. “He pushed me onto my bum!”</p><p>The DJ patted her on the head causing the squishy bow to bounce up and down. The girl giggled at the sensation, a slight smile on her face. “There there. Do you have a name by any chance?” The girl nodded. “My mama gave me the name Momo. She said it means peach!” Momo lifted her hands to a face and pushed her cheeks in to round out her face. “I’m a peach!” She joked through pursed lips. The action caused a small chuckled from the group. </p><p>“Your mama called you that?” Reiterated Sofa. He looked around the alley. “Do you know where your mama is?”</p><p>Momo frowned. “I lost my mama in the blackouts… I don’t know where she’s gone… I’ve tried texting her but.. but…” She began to cry again, the group glancing at each other with unsureness and thought. They couldn’t just leave her; she was a child! And considering Truss was still about, there was no telling what trouble she could get into. At least if they took her to sewers there was somewhere for her to stay until they could find her mother.</p><p>Supernova picked Momo up and placed her behind his neck so she was sat with her legs either side of his head. “Until we reunite you with your mother, how about you stay with us? We have another young girl who I’m sure you’ll get along with.” </p><p>Momo sniffled. “Really? You’ll let me stay with you?” The young girl stared between everyone in the group, the majority of them responding with an agreement to the idea or a shrug of ‘Why not?’ Remi was the one who seemed to reject the idea. “With all due respect Supernova, we don’t have a lot of room in the HQ as it is. I’m not sure we can accommodate another person.”</p><p>“Well, how about she stays with us in Club Planetarium?” Proposed Peet. “Won’t have to worry about space there – Or well… room because, you know… there’s definitely lots of space in there.” Lola face palmed, embarrassed at her brother’s bad pun. Supernova tapped Momo’s leg to ensure her attention. “Well, how about it, Momo?” He asked. In response, she whined and wrapped her arms around his head, clinging on for dear life. Supernova sighed. “Well, it appears that she doesn’t want to go anywhere but with me.”</p><p>The twins shrugged. If she had decided to go with Supernova, then he’d take her back to the Sewers with him; perhaps she could make friends with Yinu.</p><p>They made their way back to the plaza, attempting to cheer Momo up along the way. She seemed to be feeling better and had completely forgot about the incident that occurred with Truss. When she wasn’t crying her eyes out, she seemed like a cheery and optimistic girl. She told everyone very enthusiastically that she aspired to be a bat, hence the attire she wore. Remi was about to destroy her hopes by saying that was impossible, before the rest of the Sayu team glared at him which made him shut up.</p><p>They eventually reached the plaza, at which each group was given their instructions. The Soul Reapers were to guard the Grand Qwasa for everyone when they could, to ensure that there was no interference from Estallia. LP’s job was to just go back to the Club Planetarium since they were still supposed to be looking after the building for Supernova. They protested somewhat, saying that they could be helpful, but the DJ dismissed them and said that they would be more helpful in keeping Cast Tech in NSR’s hands. Lola pouted, but the duo did as they were told and made their way back to their job. Finally, it was just the Sayu Team, Supernova and Momo, who was messing with the DJ’s headphones. </p><p>“I take it,” Supernova spoke up “That you’ll be wanting Bunkbed Junction to help you with acquiring Akusuka back.” The group nodded, with Dodo responding with “They’re our best bet. Especially considering we don’t have Sayu fully downloaded yet.” Remi checked the tablet: still 1%; they were going to be there for a while. Supernova hummed in agreement. “Once you obtain your district back, getting your persona should be cake walk.” He adjusted Momo on his neck, the movement making her giggle. “Well, I need to get Momo to the sewers anyway, so I shall inform Mayday and Zuke that you will be needing them.” He turned on his heels and began to walk down the back alley away from the plaza. Before he disappeared around the corner and out of sight, Momo looked back to the teens and waved goodbye with a little toothy smile. Team Sayu waved back as they vanished from view. Hopefully they could find Momo’s mother at some point, Tila thought; the singer was sure Momo was missing her.</p><p>“Something’s off with her.” Remi chimed in. The teens looked to him almost in disgust. “Remi, She’s a child. She’s lost and scared and you’re saying she’s suspicious?” Sofa exclaimed. Remi put his hands up in defence. “Look, all I’m saying is that whole moment with Truss was very strange.” He brought a hand to his chin in thought “Despite Truss’s ego, he just let us stop him? He was very determined not to back down when we saved Mayday and Zuke. It feels like a set up.” The rest of the team frowned. Remi made a point, it was strange. Last time they interacted with Truss, he seemed pretty sure about revenge. Why didn’t he try to take it this time? But then again, if Momo and Truss were working together – which seemed ridiculous – Why would he be threatening her? Why would she be crying? The situation had holes in it, but for the moment, they had bigger things to worry about. </p><p>SAYU: 1%  </p><p>“HEY GUYS!” cried a voice from afar.</p><p>Mayday was bounding her way towards them waving her arms; Zuke choosing to make a slow jog unlike his band mate. She reached them quickly, stopping herself with her heels and sliding to a halt. “We ready to go?” Zuke joined them soon after.</p><p>The teens half-heartedly gave her a murmur of agreement. Remi bent down and pressed a few things on the tablet, before removing it from the connecting wires. “We’re at 1% download, but now that I’ve done a few things, we should be able to download her on the go.” He looked at the tablet with sorrow. “Being in Akusuka might help the download to happen faster, but unless we get the district back, I can’t see us having Sayu back anytime soon.” </p><p>Zuke smirked, spinning a drumstick between his fingers. “Well, we’ll just have to take it back now then, don’t we?” He fist bumped Mayday in solitude. It was reassuring to have the two of them with the group. They hardly had any real means to fight who ever had taken over their district as it was, but with the two rebel musicians, they definitely had more of a chance.</p><p>“Speaking of which,” Mayday spoke up, “Do we have any clues as to who is in control of Akusuka?” As if prepared for the question, Dodo took the tablet from Remi and swiped a couple times on its face. After a beat, he flipped the device to show Bunkbed Junction the home screen of Kura Kura Stream Hub. The rock duo stared at it for a while with intense expressions. “Umm… Are we supposed to be seeing something? It just looks like a blank web page.” Zuke interpreted. Dodo nodded in response. “Exactly, it’s empty. No one is streaming, meaning that the artist who is in our district doesn’t need a digital platform to perform.” Sofa took the Tablet from Dodo and continued his train of thought. “This means the only place that artist can perform at,” He went into Swaddle Maps and pulled up a street in Akusuka with a huge open roofed building on one side. Tila pointed a finger at the building and finished the sentence with “Is the Utatte bowl. The only place they can perform is there. We sometimes have Sayu concerts there, but in hologram format. Regardless of who they are, we can almost guarantee that’s where they’ll be If they're not streaming.”</p><p>Mayday and Zuke nodded in understanding. Sofa closed the tablet and tucked it under his arm prior to adding “We should get going now. It’s going to get dark soon, and if we want to have any chance of seeing Sayu if we get her back, it’s going to be at night.”</p><p>Mayday smiled. “Right then, let’s Rocketok!”</p><p>Boss battle 3: Ready? Start!</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Today's song is "Mr DJ - Yonosuke feat Hatsune Miku". I try to get songs that aren't Vocaloid, but it always come back to it lol. I found it was like if DJSS and Sayu did a song together, since it's kind of disco with cute vocals.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. vs. AI (Part 1)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So *clap* Wan Hazmer reads Fanfiction. That's cool.</p><p>Just a reminder, RTR has a Discord! https://discord.gg/Dy9gmwx<br/>There's a fair amount of people on there now who propose lots of theories and predictions, and lots of cool OCs which I'm still asking people for. Also, I post a hint to each Estallia artist before the chapter is out, so if you want to get a sneak peek, please join!<br/>Also, I have a MayZuke one shot called 'Beats of the Heart' releasing on Sunday!<br/>BATTLE HYPE! BATTLE HYPE!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Akusuka had changed from the last time Bunkbed Junction and Team Sayu were there. It still had that lifeless feel to it; the place dim and dusky with barely any light shining throughout the district. The bridges and streets were bare and empty, the shops were shut tight and the lack of energy and excitement that would typically be in Akusuka was unsettling. The only difference that the group very quickly noticed as they stepped from Cast Tech and into Akusuka were the few screens that were on and displaying what they believed to be the artist they were up against.</p><p>The TV’s were filled with bright and bold colours such as pinks and oranges and yellows; a rainbow of design practically jumping out the pixels on the buildings. Between the pastels were four female figures in various outfits and styles, but all looking as cute and beautiful as the others. Two of them – one with an orange theme, the other with a green theme – seemed to be sweeter and more innocent than the other two, who of which were red and blue and appeared to give off more of a mature vibe than previous two. From looking at them, the group assumed the girls to be around Eighteen or Nineteen, but they were very youthful and hardly looked their age. The Cutecore-rock gang paused to stare at one of the massive screens, taking in any hints as to their attacks or their music style.</p><p>Mayday placed a hand on her chin and hummed in thought. “So it’s a girl group? Makes a change, I guess. I’m getting 1010 vibes from them, with the colours and all.” She turned to her bandmate. “What do you think, Zuke?” </p><p>Silence.</p><p>“Umm… Zuke?”</p><p>Upon looking at the drummer more, she could see a small blush in his cheeks and a little smile on his face. She frowned and punched him in the arm, punctuating her attack with, “Hey! Red light to green light! Hello!” The hit to his arm knocked him back to his senses, Zuke shaking his head out of the funk. “Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess.” He went back into his own thoughts, the blush appearing on his face again. It took May a while of staring at her friend before she audibly gasped and pointed an accusatory finger. “YOU HYPOCRITE!” She cried. Zuke jumped from the sudden outburst from the guitarist, raising his hands in defence. “What?! What have I done?!” </p><p>Mayday stomped over to him, jabbing a finger towards the four girls on the screen. “You think they’re cute, don’t you?!” Zuke glanced left and right anxiously, avoiding eye contact with his friend and murmuring “What… No… That’s ridiculous…” May threw up her arms. “But I’M not allowed to LIKE 1010?!”</p><p>Zuke turned on her, jabbing an arm towards her. “1010 are ROBOTS. THEY’RE NOT REAL. At least these girls,” He gestured to the screen. “Are real!”</p><p>May folded her arms and frowned. “1010 are real! They have personalities! They have bodies, even if they’re made of metal! Just admit you like the pretty girls and agree that it’s okay for me to like 1010!”</p><p>“No! Because they’re not attractive and they’re not real people!”</p><p>“Then you can’t think these girls look pretty, because you’re a hypocrite!”</p><p>“But they are real people!”</p><p> </p><p>“GUYS PLEASE STOP!”</p><p>Tila stood between them with her arms extended and her palms parallel to their bodies. A silence fell over the group for a beat, until the singer sighed. “You can’t fight… I write fanfiction about you… You’d ruin all my head canons…”</p><p>Zuke sighed also, placing his fingers to his temple. “Look, ignoring the fanfiction statement which by the way, please never mention it again, fighting isn’t going to be helpful when we’re up against another group. If there is any moment when we need to be together, it’s now.” </p><p>Mayday pouted but voiced her agreement with a hum, replying with, “Fine, but we’re going to have a little talk about this later.” She spun on her heels and stomped further into Akusuka, Tila running to catch up to her side. Zuke swiftly followed them, walking behind the two girls, but ensuring there was enough space between them. He could feel a little bit of tension between himself and his buddy and really didn’t want to test it. They had argued before, but this tension felt a little different and he wasn’t sure what kind of different. Regardless, they had bigger things to think about.</p><p>Dodo, Remi and Sofa watched as the small group in front of them took off ahead, then turned to face the big screen one last time. Remi hummed in thought before addressing his tech team. “So… do we tell him now? Or…” The other boys shook their heads, a small smirk on all their faces from their shared knowledge. After a small agreement of silence, they ran to catch up to the group.</p><p>The Utatte Bowl wasn’t that far away from the main centre of Akusuka, merely a short journey away from the Kura Kura Stream Hub building that Bunkbed Junction had crashed into not so long ago. It was hardly out the way from everything else in the district, but by the looks of the streets they we’re walking down to get there, it clearly wasn’t as appreciated and used as much as the Kura Kura Stream Hub.</p><p>They eventually came upon a greatly illuminated structure the stretched upwards towards the sky with rounded edges that didn’t quite meet at the top. The walls were a metallic aqua blue with animated sea creatures and underwater critters that swam and ran around the blue surface of the building. The whole thing was full of life, like the ocean was being stored in the confinements of the establishment. </p><p>“Wow,” Gasped Mayday. “You know, I’m always kinda amazed by how elaborate NSR buildings are. Even after you banned rock, I couldn’t deny that NSR was amazing in the architectural side of districts.” </p><p>Remi stood beside May and pushed up his glasses. “The Utatte Bowl was actually our design, NSR merely constructed it for us.” He placed a hand on the sea-decorated walls. “It was one of the first things we did together as a group, besides our hit song anyway.” The rest of Team Sayu stepped up to the building and placed their hands on the walls, a soft smile of reminiscence decorating their faces. It was incredible to think how far they had come since then. It was all just a passion project for them at the time, but it grew into something that made them inseparable.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, stay still! Your hair is a mess!”</p><p>“But you brush so hard!”</p><p>“Why do you even give yourself bad hair?”</p><p>“I think our hair looks cute like that!”</p><p>The group looked towards the doors of the Utatte Bowl. They had guessed right; the artists were inside there. Now it was only a matter of beating them and gaining back Akusuka for Team Sayu.</p><p>And hopefully getting back Sayu herself.</p><p>In her typical fashion, Mayday kicked open the doors of the building, a loud thud resonating through the open roofed establishment. The four girls on the stage became alert to their presence, their eyes darting to look at the rock-Cutecore group at the entrance. They seemed very unprepared for their arrival, the red girl taking a hairbrush to the blue girl’s hair which was messy and tangled, and the other two sat crossed legged on the floor painting each other’s nails their respective Orange and green colours. </p><p>The orange girl sprang up to her feet, clasping her hands in joy. “Oh! You’re finally here! I’m so happy!”</p><p>The group was surprised, each exchanging a look with one another. Mayday was the first to question. “You… were expecting us?”</p><p>The blue girl rolled her eyes. “Well duh, I’ve been watching you through everything. Which by the way, that battle with LP? Kinda slapped hard not gonna lie.”</p><p>The green girl pouted. “I thought it was a little rude that I was stalking them. I think I should have just kept it as a surprise for myself.”</p><p>The red girl flicked her hair. “I think seeing people at their most vulnerable is delightful”.</p><p>Now that the girl group was in front of them, the NSR group could get a good look at their appearances. They all wore dresses of various styles, each matching what seemed to be their personality. The one that most caught the groups eye was the orange girl. She had orange skin with little freckles across her face, and long yellow hair that reached down to her knees with a burnt orange colour decorating the tips. Her dress was armless; fluffy white fabric strips draping across her torso and down to her waist where a white and yellow obi belt hugged her waist. The lower half of her dress was puffy and large, the orange fabric sticking out from her small legs and sitting on top a brown frilly under skirt, topped off with a small pink heart on the bottom of it. On the back of her obi belt sat a large white bow whose ends were almost equal in length to her hair and swayed whenever she moved. To conclude the outfit, light brown Ugg boots lay on her feet with a creamy fluff around the rim of the boot. Compared to the other girls, this girl seemed to be brighter and more vibrant. The green girl dressed similarly in a sweet outfit, but with her hair in shoulder length pigtails. The red girl and the Blue girl seemed to dress more maturely and sexually than the other two, with revealing dresses that left little to the imagination; short skirts, long tight boots and clothing that disappeared in just the right areas.</p><p>Dodo shook his head in disbelief. “You’ve been watching us? How have you been watching us?”<br/>
The orange girl giggled sweetly. “I can see everything!” She began to count on her fingers. “You walking through the streets, you sleeping in bed, your search history, even your data files!” She winked at the crew. “I can even hinder your download speed!”</p><p>Remi grew angry, his fists clenching by his side. “You… You’re the reason Sayu is taking so long! You’re stopping her from coming back to us!”</p><p>The orange girl ignored the statement and gasped in shock. “Oh! But where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself!” The girl group collected together and posed in a poster-like manner. They all spoke in sync, their voices melodic together. “I am AI! I sing and dance for everyone all around the globe! I can be anything you want me to be!”</p><p>The NSR artists had to take a double take, unsure if they heard the girl group correctly. Zuke raised an eyebrow and pointed a finger towards them. “Wait, you’re all AI? What do you mean by ‘I am AI?’ Do you mean ‘we are AI? Like it’s your group name?’”</p><p>The girls still spoke in sync in an unsettling manner, a chorus of little giggles in response to Zuke’s questions. “No silly, I am AI! All four of us are AI!” </p><p>The statement was confusing, the group taking a moment to contemplate the words from the four girls on the stage. They were all AI? After a beat, it dawned on Team Sayu who was experienced in manners such as this. But they had expected as much from looking at the decorated screens earlier. Tila stepped up to the front of the group, a steeled look on her face. “You’re an A.I. System… You’re not real… You’re just holograms on that stage. That’s how you’re stopping us from downloading Sayu.”</p><p>AI clapped her hands in applause. “Ding ding ding! We’re all the same software!” The orange AI gestured towards the other girls. “We all have different names of course; I’m just called AI since I’m the original, but green is called Doki, blue is called Omoi, and red is called Kokoro. We’re all still the AI software though!”</p><p>After the reveal, Mayday gave Zuke a smug look, whispering to him “Not so real now, are they?” Zuke sighed and gave May a small punch on the arm, an indication that their conversation was over.</p><p>Doki stepped close to the edge of the stage, and spoke in a soft and bubbly voice. “I’m so sorry that you can’t download your friend.” She rubbed her hands together shyly. Omoi approached her and clapped her around the head. “No, I’m not.” The blue girl gave a cold look to the NSR group. “I can’t let you download your persona because then I can’t do what Luthor has instructed me to. I need all the connections I can get to do my job, and you lot over clocking the system isn’t going to help with that.”</p><p>“Oh really?” Asked Remi. “And what is that job?”</p><p>Kokoro tutted. “I’m not going to tell you.” She waved a dismissive hand. “Now if you’re just going to ask me pointless questions and just stare at my gorgeous self, promptly leave. I’m not in the mood for some personal time.” The red girl looked down on them. “Especially when you’re hardly cute enough to have some.”</p><p>The NSR group readied themselves, Mayday saying sternly, “We’re not going anywhere.”</p><p>Omoi shrugged her shoulders. “Fair enough, if that’s what you want to do.” She bought her hand up and made a ‘come here’ gesture. “Bring it.”</p><p>The six of them ran towards the stage, ready to engage with the girls. Doki put a finger to her chin in thought. “Wait? What am I doing? You’re a mermaid, right?” The green girl stuck out her arms with her palms facing the floor. “Of course! You need water to fight!”</p><p>The ground began to rumble under them causing them to pause from concern. After a small moment, they felt their feet become wet. They looked down to see water flowing under them, their shoes surrounded by liquid that was steadily rising. They retreated back towards the entrance where the water had not touched yet, seeing Doki on stage with her body tense. The green girl glanced up towards the group with a sad look on her face. “Oh no! This won’t do at all! We need much more than that!”</p><p>The rumble escalated to a large earthquake, walls crumbling slightly from the force of it. In an instant, pipes exploded out from the floor and started spewing water into the arena. The venue quickly filled like a swimming pool, intense rapids flooding down from the direction of the stage. The currents were strong, the crew barely able to keep afloat. They couldn’t swim upstream and get anywhere near the stage; they weren’t even sure a mermaid could! How could they stand any chance of attacking them when they couldn’t even reach them?</p><p>AI clapped her hands happily. “Yay! The mermaid has water!” She raised her fingers to do a cute V sign. “Now that you’re comfortable, our show can begin! AI chan wa kimi no AI ga dAIsuki!” With the words, music began to blast out the speakers surrounding the stage, the girls starting to dance along with the upbeat tunes and sing in harmony. It was almost hypnotic to watch, the group mesmerised by the swaying and melody, but the cold water forcing them back quickly knocked them to their senses. </p><p>Tila came up for a breath. “We can’t swim against the current!” She was flailing her arms, struggling to stay above the surface. Seeing her struggle, Dodo sped towards her and wrapped an arm around her waist, using his body to support her. The rest of Team Sayu made their way over, each member supporting one another. Zuke and Mayday had done a similar thing, their hands clutched together while their free arm moved against the water. The drummer shouted over the rushing water, “We have to stop Doki! We can’t fight like this!”</p><p>Almost in response to their cries of helplessness, the girls on the stage blew kisses towards them, large pink hearts coming from their lips and spinning with razor sharp accuracy straight towards the artists. Upon seeing the attack, Remi cried “DUCK!”, the teens taking a deep breath and diving below the surface. Bunkbed Junction weren’t as lucky in perceiving the attack, the hearts taking a small slice off Zuke’s hair and getting stuck in the wall behind. Zuke furrowed. “Guys, this is you’re district and your area of specialty! If anyone knows how to deal with a hologram, It’s you!”</p><p>The comment gave the team a rush of confidence. Zuke was right, they had been doing this kind of thing for years now, if anyone could get out of this situation, it was them. They glanced at one other, silently sharing ideas through looks alone. After a beat, their eyes sparked with life, an idea filling their minds at the same time. They exchanged a nod, then turned to look towards the idols on stage with determination. All they had to do now was wait.</p><p>Answering their prayers, the girls blew kisses again, the hearts skimming across the water’s surface and aiming towards their heads. The time to act was now. Team Sayu dived under the water, the boys grabbing Tila by her lower legs. They saw the shadow of a heart approaching their position and pulled the singer down a little, building up momentum. When the heart was just barely where they waited, the boys pushed Tila up and out the water, her body rising above where the attack was directed and landing on the surface of the heart weapon. Without hesitation now she was on a solid surface, Tila set off towards the stage, jumping from heart to heart all the way to the very front of the venue. With one last final leap, she threw herself at the stage, landing on its surface with a roll.</p><p>The girl group glared at the singer, bringing their arms up to fight. Tila got to her feet with a ringing pain in her joints, but resolve making her set her head straight and continue. She steeled at the girls in front of her. After a moment and without much thought in the matter, Tila ran towards Doki, pulling back an arm to take a hit against the green girl. With all her might, she swung for her.</p><p>Her arm went straight through the hologram, colliding with nothing but air.</p><p>Tila stumbled to a halt behind Doki. An eruption of laughter came from the girl group, their attention turned to disgracing the singer. Kokoro brought her hand up to her mouth, trying to stifle her elegant giggles. “You’re one of the creators of a virtual singer, but you didn’t think for a second that you wouldn’t be able to hit me?!” The red girl smirked and pointed a gloved finger towards Tila. “You’re an idiot! I’m surprised you got this far in your career! What plan did you possibly have to defeat me?!”</p><p>Tila turned to the AI group, a smile of confidence emblazoned on her face. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to hit you.” She pushed up her glasses with her baggy sleeved hands. “I just had to distract you.”</p><p>The girl’s faces fell. AI span around all the girls to look at the singer’s teammates, who were elevating Remi above the water; the tablet in his hands and his fingers flying over the screen. He had a face filled with concentration, eyes darting all across the face of the device. With a triumphant cry of “GOT IT!” the artist swiped a hand over the screen towards the stage, a beam of pink and blue energy shooting in the direction of Doki, who screamed in fear and tried to run from the attack. It was futile though, the beam striking her in the back and vaporising her; her body turning into little cubes and bits of code and fluttering away. </p><p>The remaining 3 female avatars stared in horror where Doki once was. The AI software was hardy and practically un-hackable; no one had even broken the first fire wall of the system before. Her creator had ensured she was filled to the brim with safety measures and blocks so nobody could access her files and code. And yet, here they were, an avatar down.</p><p>The water began to settle, no longer the gushing rapids they were before, just a gentle and calm pool. It still meant that the group didn’t have solid ground to stand on, but at least they were no longer fighting against the currents. </p><p>Zuke and Mayday cheered in triumph, Mayday shouting “Woo! Knew you guys could do it!” The rock duo swam to the boys of Team Sayu, Remi still fingers ablaze on the gadget. They were still unsure what he had actually done, but it was clearly a good thing. Sofa elaborated for them when seeing their slightly confused faces; “If she can control the water supply of Akusuka, it means she’s in the system. That means we can override whatever she’s doing and take her out bit by bit – code by code.”</p><p>AI stomped on the stage, whining and moaning. “No No No! You’re not allowed to do that!” She glanced at Tila in the corner of her eye and span on her heels to face her. The orange girl snapped her fingers and the speakers surrounding the stage screamed with noise, the sheer force from the sound pushing Tila off the stage and sending her into the water with a loud splash. AI folded her arms, sulking. “You shouldn’t go into a girls code like that you perv!”</p><p>Sofa and Dodo swam towards where Tila had landed, helping her get her balance back. Meanwhile, Remi was addressing Bunkbed Junction, showing the screen to the two of them. “We need more time so I can get into the system more and take her out.”  He looked them both in the eyes. “Can you get her to fight with you? If she’s distracted with you, she’ll have less concentration on keeping her coding safe.” Mayday and Zuke nodded in agreement, pulling their instruments out.</p><p>Now, it might come as a surprise, but it’s very hard to play instruments under water, and the rock duo weren’t prepared to keep their weapons above the surface all the time. The water also made it hard to move, meaning they were more prone to attacks from the idols. They need something to stand on, something that could keep them above the water. The duo thought for a moment, before turning to face the wall where a heart had pierced the structure. They could take a page from Team Sayu’s book, it seemed.</p><p>Zuke gripped the heart with his gloved hand and pulled it from its confinement, the object landing onto the water was a soft splash. It was only now that they realised just how big it was, the expanse of the weapon easily capable of carrying maybe two or three people, which was very convenient for the two-person band. They clambered on unsteadily, the heart swaying in the water from their body weight. Once securely on with Mayday facing towards the stage and Zuke back to back with her, the guitarist cried out “Hey! Windows XP! You’re not real!” readying her guitar in her hands.</p><p>The idols glared at her, clearly pissed from the remark. Kokoro and Omoi took to the front of the stage, pushing AI behind them. The red girl clicked her fingers and the music came back on, the idols getting into position for their performance. In sync, they raised their arms towards the sky and a bright glow began to materialize in the open roof above them. At the peak of the music, the light split, little stars hovering in open space. With a drop of their arms, the stars shot in the direction of the group, a nonstop barrage of small buzzsaw-like items tearing apart everything they touched. Team Sayu had joined back together as a group at this point, the collective lot swimming for their lives towards a rogue leftover heart for shelter. It proved slightly effective, most stars bouncing off their cover, other’s piercing through it and catching on their wrists and arms.</p><p>Upon the start of the onslaught, Zuke had begun to play a solo on his drumkit, acting as a propeller for Bunkbed Junction’s new floatation device and pushing them around the waters of the venue. Their constant movement allowed them to effectively dodge the shooting stars and gave them some time to combat the attack from the girls. Mayday was straight to it, fingers flicking to different tabs over the strings of her guitar; an almighty riff springing from her instrument. The playing caught the attention of the idols who in response blew hearts at them, this attack homing in on them much faster and with more ferocity than before. May caught sight of the projectiles following them changed her grip to hold the neck of her guitar. She spun it in her hand, building up speed, before throwing it at the hearts. The pink shapes collided with her weapon and shattered into pieces, sparkles of pink fluttering to the water’s surface. She caught her guitar again, going back into a riff.</p><p>“Remi, I’m not sure this heart will last much longer!” Dodo shouted, his arms split with small cuts as their cover was slowly failing apart. The artist huffed, his lips pressing into a thin line of concentration. “I’m almost there. I think I can get into the drainage system to get rid of the water, but it’s taking some work…” He was rapidly pressing and typing on the device. “Along with that, I don’t think we can hit her from the tablet again, we’re going to have to find a source that we can use to transfer the energy.”</p><p>Tila’s ears pricked up. “You mean, like a guitar?” She suggested, glancing at the rock group zooming over the pool with ease. The teens had seen it happen before when Bunkbed Junction had hijacked their concert: their final showstopper move. If they needed a tool a source to hit AI with, that would be it.</p><p>Their covering split down the middle, their safety compromised. All at once, they were being beaten and scratched by the sharp falling objects, hisses of pain escaping through their lips. They shook it off though, chucking the remaining heart pieces away and using their arms to shelter Remi so he could end this onslaught. I took a while, the young group facing more brunt force then they ever had before, but eventually Remi’s eyes lit up with delight, exclaiming “It’s done!” </p><p>In an instant, Team Sayu looked towards Mayday and Zuke, who almost seemed to be having fun taunting and insulting the avatars. Sofa cupped his hand around his mouth, crying out “Mayday! Zuke! Over here!” The call caught their attention, Zuke speeding up his drum solo so their makeshift boat could speed over to them. As they approached, Remi wadded his way forward and extended out his arm with the tablet in his hand. He screamed “Press the button on the screen, then play!”. They heard and nodded in understanding, swerving on by and snatching the device from the artist, then turning back to see a look of fear on Omoi and Kokoro’s faces as they approached at great speed. </p><p>Mayday did as she was told and tapped the screen where a small button was. Immediately after, her guitar lit up with blue light, the strings illuminating her surroundings. She could sense the power coursing through her instrument, the energy sending chills through her body as she lay her fingertips on the neck. With a final smirk to the idols, she slammed down her hand on the strings. A beam of pink, blue and green light sprang from the guitar and aimed itself at the blue girl on the stage, whose face dropped as it grew closer to her. </p><p>They watched as Omoi raised her hands to guard herself, despite knowing the motion was futile. Even through the chaos, they could see the hologram girl shaking from fear. A small whimper escaped her lips as she closed her eyes in preparation… she didn’t want to go.</p><p>Just as it was going to collide, Kokoro stood in front of Omoi with her arms wide and a steeled fearless on her face. The beam struck the red girl in the centre of her chest, her eyes going wide from the impact. She looked down at the digital wound and bought her trembling fingers up to touch the pieces of code that were dripping from her. She took a deep breath out, turning towards the blue girl whose mouth was covered with her hand in horror. Kokoro smiled and reached a hand out to the shaken Omoi. The blue idol took it, then pulled herself into the red idols body, wrapping her arms around her waist and sitting her head on Kokoro’s chest. Kokoro did the same to Omoi, placing a hand on the back of her head. The blue girl whispered “No... don’t go…”</p><p>In silence, the red girl collapsed into sparkly pieces. With a responded sigh, the blue girl closely following behind, fading away instead of just disappearing. Her body turned transparent as her code twinkled away into the night sky. Before she faded, she looked towards AI, who was on her hands in knees in frustration. With a gentle grin, Omoi disappeared, leaving the orange idol alone on the stage.</p><p>As the room fell to silence, the stars vanished and the water slowly drained from the venue; the cutecore-rock group touching the floor of the building after so long. They tried to shake the water off of them and wring out their clothes, but they were completely soaked so the likely hood of the action helping wasn’t very likely. Regardless, it was nice to be on solid ground again; they could move much easier on foot.</p><p>The group looked towards the stage as the sound of whimpering filled the concert hall, the sobbing voice echoing off the walls. AI was in tears, sobbing onto the stage. Team Sayu exchanged glances of uncertainty. She was their enemy for sure, but it wasn’t like they didn’t feel bad for her; they had just erased her code and deleted the friends she had created for herself. They thought about if they had created Sayu like her, as a A.I. system instead of their digital persona. They had to stop her to get back their district, but that didn’t mean they had to completely erase her. Considering the teens were all friends themselves, they couldn’t imagine the thought of one of them not being with them.</p><p>After consideration, Tila made her way up onto the stage and knelt next to the idol, placing her hands on her lap. She waited by her for a moment, just letting her non-threatening presence comfort the girl. After a moment of silence, Tila spoke softly, “You know, you don’t have to fight… If you let us have our district back, we can fix you’re coding and get your friends back…”</p><p>They heard AI take a deep breath in and out. “I’m the best idol in the world… I’m the only idol everyone needs…” They watched as her bright colours began to fade, her hair changing from her bright yellow to a grey, and then slowly to a deep black with the tips becoming spikier and sharper. She pounded her fist against the floor of the stage. “He said I was the best… so I must be… Luthor told me so too… he paid for my existence…” She raised her hands to grip the sides of her head, her fingers pulling hair at her long hair and her eyes wild. “Why would Luthor pay for me if I wasn’t the greatest??????” She started laughing maniacally.</p><p>Tila got to her feet and took a step away from the hologram, taking caution. The artists watched as AI pulsed with dark light and her avatar flickered in and out of reality, glitching and twitching through giggles of hysteria. The room seemed to become darker and more shaded, the lights of the venue switching off in an instant and leaving the group in darkness with only the moon lighting up the place. </p><p>AI stopped laughing and shakily stood up, her hair hanging over her face and her arms loosely swinging from side to side. At first, she spoke in a whisper.</p><p>“There can be only one…”</p><p>Tila was trembling at this point. Her mind screamed for her to move, but her body didn’t respond, stuck in place and unwilling to move. She didn’t know if it was fear or something else, but her inability to get out of what was clearly trouble was frustrating. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Bunkbed Junction preparing for the next phase of the battle, lifting their instruments into place. She could see Remi, Dodo and Sofa waving to her. Their mouths were moving, but she couldn’t hear their cries; the sound was muffled like she was under water. She knew she needed to run, but couldn’t.</p><p>AI’s clothes began to fade like her hair, the orange and brown’s replaced with purples, greys and blacks. The avatar took another deep breath in and out, before flicking her head back rapidly so her hair fell behind her body again. The parting of her hair revealed her eyes to be pure white in colour, no pupils and no life behind them. Her nails were like talons, her skin had mutated to a blood red colour, and the bow that adorned her back was now decorated with spikes and skulls. The cute girl was gone.</p><p>The idol spun her head towards the teen singer on the stage who froze up more from the look. Within seconds, she had teleported in front of Tila and gripped hold of the collar of her hoodie, raising her up so her feet no longer touched the floor. The Sayu member started to choke from the hold and tried to pry the idols fingers from her clothing. She wasn’t even sure how AI was doing it - she was a hologram – but that didn’t stop it from hurting; or allow the air to enter her lungs. </p><p>AI bought her head close to Tila’s, a Cheshire grin plastered on her face. </p><p>“I WILL BE THE ONLY IDOL IN THE WORLD!”</p><p>With full force, AI catapulted Tila off the stage and straight towards a wall. Time seemed to stop for Sayu’s singer as she soared through the air, preparing to collide with the metal surroundings of the venue. She could hear the muffled screams of her name, her team running in her direction with their arms out in helplessness. The cuts on her arms felt numb now; her entire body did. She closed her eyes in content with the outcome that was going to happen to her.</p><p>Tila hit the wall face first, her glasses smashing to pieces with the glass fragmenting and splitting every inch of her face open. As she fell to the ground with blood dripping from eyes, cheeks and nose, she caught the boys of Team Sayu running to her side with concerned displayed on their features. After one final weak glance looking up at her friends, she blacked out.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The songs for AI this chapter are:<br/>- 'Newly Edgy Idols - MitchieM feat Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin, Megurine Luka, MEIKO'<br/>- 'KOISURU BEAM - Cillia feat Kagamine Rin'<br/>- 'Sweet Magic - Junky feat Kagamine Rin'</p><p>Fun fact! AI is a pun on A.I. like the software and the Japanese word for 'love' which is ai (愛). Following with that theme, all the avatars of AI are Japanese words referring to romance: Doki as in the onomatopoeia doki doki (which refers to a beating heat), Kokoro as in 心 which means 'heart', and finally Omoi (思い) which can mean 'to desire, to feel'.<br/>The catchphrase AI uses before the battle starts is 'AIちゃんはきみのAIがだAI好き' (AI chan wa kimi no AI ga dAIsuki) which means 'AI chan loves your love' and takes a pun on the words 'daisuki' meaning 'to really like'</p><p>I'm working on a degree that has very little future okay? I have to do something with my knowledge.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. vs. AI (Part 2)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A mini shout out to @samdragon57 on Twitter for making fan art of LP (Lola and Peet) as part of OCtober! They're an amazing artist and I recommend checking them out! Here's the link to their art: https://twitter.com/samdragon57/status/1313624308141355008</p><p>Because someone suggested it in my server, I have a Y/N one shot coming out this Sunday! I haven't thought of a name yet, but it's going be based around Y/N and DJ Subatomic Supernova!</p><p>But anyway, BATTLE HYPE LET'S GO!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Tila awoke from her unconsciousness, she was greeted to some figures crowded around her body in a darkened room - the figures of which she assumed to be her team and Bunkbed Junction. Someone was dabbing her face with a cloth, a stinging sensation making her wince every time. She hissed through her teeth which caused alarm to the people in the room who replied with gasps of shock and comments of worry.</p><p>“Tila, are you alright?”</p><p>“Thank goodness you’re awake!”</p><p>The singer tried to sit up from her laying position, only to be lowered down again by some hands on her stomach and chest. “whoa whoa, slow down now. If you wanna get up, at least let me clean your face fully.” She felt the cloth on her face once again, but she swiped it away and cried out “But I can’t rest! AI is attacking-”</p><p>A rough low voice spoke up – probably Zuke. “We’re safe. We’ve managed to find somewhere she can’t see us, and we’ve all turned off any electronics we have so she can’t get to us by any other means.”</p><p>The mention of being safe made her relax a little, her shoulders loosening, and allowed herself to lay back down as to allow whoever was cleaning her face to do so. It took a while, the silence filled with hisses and moans of pain, but after some time, the person cleaning her up replied “There. All done. I would try to cover up the cuts, but- “They paused, chuckling a little. “Surprisingly, the storeroom of a venue doesn’t have a lot of medical supplies.”</p><p>Tila sat up finally. For some reason her eyes didn’t seem to focus in the darkness, so she closed them.</p><p>And then opened them.</p><p>And then closed them. </p><p>And then opened them. </p><p>Nothing seemed to be changing; everything was blurry to her, like a fog had appeared in front of her face. She could vaguely see the outlines of people in the room and the very pale colours from their appearances, but not much more than that. “Guys… please tell me it’s not just me struggling to see…”</p><p>She watched as the heads of the people in the room exchanged a glance. The lack of prompt reply made her start to panic, her eyes bawling up with tears and her body shaking. She felt a hand land on her shoulder, a gentle female voice comforting her. “It’s okay. You’re fine. From what the boys have said, it isn’t permanent. You might have to get stronger glasses afterwards, but that’s about it.”</p><p>A wave of relief washed over her, but it hardly made the reality less terrifying for her. They were in the midst of getting their district back and she could hardly help if she couldn’t see. Tila raised a hand to meet the one on her shoulder, before pulling the person into a tight hug. She needed someone to hold her right now; to ground her and confirm that everything was alright. She felt arms wrap around her and rub her back, the sensation calming her nerves.</p><p>Remi was pacing back and forth, his hand cupping his chin in thought. “We’ve almost got AI down. We’ve limited her access to almost everything in Akusuka, we only need to eliminate the form that’s on stage… but how…” He was practically burning a hole into the floor from his pacing. Sofa had to grab him to stop him from walking into a wall he was that deep in thought.</p><p>“Well, we used Mayday’s guitar to hit her last, why not use Zuke’s drumkit this time?” Tila suggested.</p><p>Zuke scratched the back of his head. “Yeah… a little problem with that…” He pulled the sticks from his pocket. They were in pieces, the wood chipped and burnt, and barely seemed to be anything like the drumsticks he once knew - He couldn’t fix this break with tape. “We had some trouble getting out of the fight to get to safety. AI has become a lot more vicious now; she’s become berserk. I’m honestly surprised we managed to get out relatively unscathed. I used my sticks to block an attack and well… I don’t think I can use them anymore.”</p><p>Sofa peered at the equipment on the shelves of the storeroom, looking over each level. “Do we have any other instruments we can use? We only need to play once for the attack, we don’t have to be skilled in it.” In response, Remi shook his head. “No. The venue is mainly designed for Sayu so having instruments is a little pointless. Anyone who books the Utatte Bowl brings their own as a result.” </p><p>The group sighed. They had already used the tablet so that was also out of the question. They had to think of a means of transferring the energy out so they could finish AI off, but they didn’t have anything to do so. It was especially frustrating for the Sayu Team who were so close to getting a chance to get their persona, Sayu, back but were stuck short by just one more attack.</p><p>Remi felt a light bulb go off in his head. He started to search through the shelves and boxes in the room, eventually pulling out a small headset from a side cupboard. The rest of them looked to him in confusion. “You got a plan, Remi?” The artist turned to face the group, a smile of confidence on his face as he presented his findings. “We have something we can use for the attack.”  </p><p>Mayday took the headset from his hands, turning it over and staring at it with narrowed eyes. She shrugged. “I guess we can use this as a drumstick or something.” She said, raising her arms to slam down the equipment like you would with drumsticks. She was quickly halted by the teens, who snatched it from her before she could do damage. Once ensuring that the headset was safe, Dodo questioned Remi. “What do you plan on doing with this? We don’t have Sayu to make it compatible with.” The comment was met with a nod from Sofa.</p><p>Remi pushed up his glasses. “No, we don’t have Sayu. But we do have an instrument of sorts.” He made his way towards Tila and placed the tech into her hands. She felt around it for a moment, feeling up to the cover on the microphone part of the headset. Upon feeling it, she frowned. “No. I’m not doing it. I can’t do it.” She chucked it across the room, the equipment thankfully not breaking as it hit the wall.</p><p>Remi picked it up and responded to Tila with, “Tila, you have to. Your voice is the only instrument we have with us that we haven’t already used.” The singer cowered into her arms, attempting to cover her ears so she didn’t have to hear what they were saying. She murmured into the fabric of her hoodie. “I hate singing in front of people… I hate having the crowd in front of me… That’s why we have Sayu… I can’t do it…”</p><p>Zuke crossed his arms and pondered. “There isn’t really a crowd here to see you. About the only people who haven’t seen you sing in person are Mayday and I, which is hardly an audience compared to what you normally experience when you’re performing in the Kura Kura Stream Hub.” He gestured to her eyes. “Not to mention, even if there was an audience, you currently wouldn’t be able to see them anyway. If there’s any time to get over your fears, it would be now.”</p><p>Tila whined in frustration. Zuke was, much to her dislike, very much right. There wasn’t anyone to hear her sing other than the people she was with, and this fight wasn’t being broadcast for everyone to see. She could definitely help the team out in their time of need, but she just couldn’t get herself to a position to do so. Getting over a fear was easier said than done. She had always been scared of singing for anyone - she could remember as a little kid, in school plays or in music class, that she would freeze up whenever she had to sing. It always felt like their eyes were digging into her body, and as a result, her voice would come out as a mere squeak, barely audible to her peers. It was a nightmare ordeal for her, and considering she still had not dealt with being temporarily blind, facing her fears might send her into a meltdown.</p><p>She shakily got to her feet with some help from Mayday, then begrudgingly stuck out her hand to receive the headset. Once it was in her hands, she placed it on her head. Remi nodded at the action. “Thank you, Tila. I know it’s hard for you, but it’s just this once.” He turned to address the whole team. “We’re going to need to build power up to charge the headset so we can attack. I can work on the tablet to connect the headset to the sound system for that, but I’m gonna need some time to do so.”</p><p>“Can I suggest that not all of us go into the concert hall?” Sofa asked. “Dodo, Zuke and I aren’t much help, but we can try to mess with her by doing things with the tech throughout the building. With her attention on all of us at once, she’ll have less power to use.” Zuke and Dodo voiced their agreement to the idea. Mayday didn’t seem pleased with the suggestion.</p><p>“Well… Zuke and I are kinda a two-person thing… I would feel a little weird to not have him there…”</p><p>Zuke took one of Mayday’s hands and cupped it in his own. “Hey. It’s just for a little bit, okay? You got this. If there is anyone that can kick a virtual idols ass, it’s gonna be my favourite guitarist.” The sentiment made her smile, but she was still a little crushed inside that she would have to part from her… buddy for a little while.</p><p>The group set their plan into motion. It was decided that Mayday, Remi and Tila would confront AI, mainly playing the defensive just so they could build up power, with Mayday ensuring that she would guide and keep Tila safe. Meanwhile, Sofa, Zuke and Dodo were going to head towards the control room. There they could try to cut out her hologram and mess with her performance; she was sure to try to stop them from doing that, which should give the guys on the ground plenty of opportunities to build up the power and finally strike.</p><p>With a final cheer of support from them all, they split out from the storeroom and made their way to their objectives.</p><p>----------------------------------------------</p><p>Mayday was leading the group, Tila’s hand in her own with Remi booting up the tablet again trailing behind them. They walked in silence as they feared saying anything that might give the idol any hint as to what they were doing. They could feel AI staring at them as they paced towards the entrance to the venue through the cameras; it was unnerving. As they continued down the hallway, the feeling turned from bad to worse with the lights that illuminated their path flickering on and off. Tila gripped tighter onto May; she couldn’t see a lot, but the stark contrast between lit and not was apparent to her, and It shook her to her core. Remi was only annoyed by the action as it merely hindered him from seeing the device to bring it back to life. </p><p>Once they reached the entrance, the three of them hid by the side of the open doorway with their backs to the wall. Mayday peered around the edge; AI had her back to them and was staring at some pop-up hologram screens, swiping them left and right with her fingers. She grabbed a file and reached her hand in, pulling the papers out and arranging them in front of her. May watched as the girl celebrated, then pressed a small button on one of the screens she had. As a result, her work disappeared, whatever she was doing complete. She paused then sighed, turning to look at the doorway and waving. </p><p>“Hey guys!” She giggled, her voice soft and fluffy, a contrast from her current dark form. “I’m so glad you’re back!”</p><p>Mayday glanced back towards Tila and Remi and whispered for them to stay put to which they nodded. The guitarist pulled out her guitar and took a deep breath, before stepping out for the idol to see. AI clapped happily - like she hadn’t thrown their friend at a wall and badly hurt her. May didn’t react, a steeled expression on her face. AI saw that she wasn’t having fun and pouted. “Awwww, is someone grumpy?”</p><p>Mayday scowled. “You hurt Tila. I don’t think you have anything to be joyful about.” She aligned her fingers on the strings.</p><p>AI lost her fluffy personality as her smile dropped and her hands curled into fists. “You took my friends away from me. You seek to destroy me… Yet you expect me to show you – to show that other Idol mercy?!” Her eyes glowed bright white as her anger grew. “I’ve done what Luthor has instructed me to do. I have no issue doing to you…” Her hair started to flow around her as she lifted off her feet and levitated on the stage. “WHAT YOU WANT TO DO TO ME!”</p><p>The guitarist stood strong as AI’s music filled the room. It was different from what was playing before; her cute voice still laced the track, but the melody was filled with heavy bass and guitar, the kind you would hear in heavy metal. Even if the music was her kind of style and what she knew best, that didn’t stop it from being as intimidating and menacing as ever. </p><p>AI began her advances, raising her hands and clenching them into fists. Mayday looked below her feet to see dark circles forming in columns on her side of the venue and ran towards the other side. By the skin of her teeth, she dodged rolled out of the attack path and to safety, sharp spikes appearing where she once was. She didn’t have any time to rest though, the circles appearing and making her dodge once again. They were shooting up to the beat of the music, every so often producing a Mexican wave of spikes rising from the floor as the melody flowed. She tried to play her guitar when she could, but her time was limited, and she could barely play enough to even get a bar out.</p><p>Remi watched on from the door, his eyes darting to the tablet every so often to check the attack progress. The lack of music from their side meant the bar was barely moving, scooting mere inches towards their goal. It was frustrating; Mayday barely had anytime to do anything – AI was too strong in her current form. His speciality wasn’t exactly in fighting; he was an artist at heart, and not really the musical kind of artist, but he was still passionate about what his team did. Compared to Tila anyway, his musical skill was so small. Even with that though, he had to help Mayday.</p><p>“I’m gonna come back for you, okay?” He said to Tila with a hand on her arm. She seemed to think for a moment, before humming a yes to him, signifying he could leave. He smiled, then spun on his heels to join Mayday in the fray with the tablet in his hands.</p><p>The teen artist ran to meet the guitarist who was lucky to catch a small break in the spike onslaught, catching her breath and playing what she could now she had the time. She caught Remi in the corner of her eye and turned to him. “I told you to stay there!”  She appeared worried, but he dismissed her. “You can’t do this alone; you don’t have the time to build up power by yourself.” He frowned. “I might not be Zuke, but I can still help where I can.” </p><p>Mayday smiled softly at his words, then nodded in solidarity. She didn’t want to put them in danger, but they were in this together, and having someone with her with relieving. The duo turned to face AI, whose face seemed annoyed that now she had to deal with two people. Regardless, the attacks began again, the spikes jutting up out the floor and forcing them to either jump or dodge out the way. In the split seconds he had, Remi checked the tablet to see the progress they had made. Even with that little moment of playing from Mayday, it had barely moved anywhere; they were going to be fighting AI for hours at this rate, and considering May was exhausted after one wave, he doubted they would survive for the time it would take. </p><p>“Urgh!” AI groaned, seeing her attacks missing her targets. “Just die already!” She lifted a finger and formed a circle over her head, the purple aura materialising into saw blades that shot towards the duo at rapid speed. The two of them cried out in alarm before ducking to avoid the spinning weapons, and then rolling out the way of the spikes that were still emerging from the ground in columns. They thought they had triumphed over the blades, until they heard the sound of metal hitting metal, and looked behind them to see the saws had bounced off the walls and were heading straight for them.</p><p>“Mayday, look out!” Screamed Remi, as one was aimed towards her face. The guitarist moved her hands to grip the neck of her instrument and swung with all her might towards the attack. She managed to hit it, sending it flying upwards. Resound that she was safe, her attention went back to AI and moving her fingers over the strings to play any melody she could. She wasn’t however, the complete luck that the blade hit the rim of the bowl ceiling and came cascading back at her. Remi saw it, taking action and going to guard Mayday from the blow with the tablet. It was a jerk reaction from him, just acting on instinct; he didn’t think about the consequences. He raised the device up with its face towards the purple weapon to block it with his eyes closed from fear. </p><p>The saw bounced off, shattering the screen and sending it flying out of Remi’s hands and scattering across the room.</p><p>Remi’s heart sank. He cried out, running towards where the tablet had stopped skidding. He paused to jump over some spikes with his eyes trained on his destination. Once they had passed, he sprinted for it and grabbed it into his hands, turning it over to see the damage. A large spider web-like crack decorated its face, the display black. “No no no!” Remi screamed in horror. He held his finger down on the power button for a moment and prayed for something – anything to happen. He was thankfully greeted to the display lighting up weakly, flickering in its hurt state. The display showed a blue background with a pink bar in its centre, and the words:</p><p>SAYU: 75%</p><p>-------------------------------------------</p><p>“Umm.. So… Where do we start?”<br/>Zuke, Dodo and Sofa had made it to the control room. They didn’t have much trouble getting there; AI didn’t seem to intervene with their mission, possibly because she was focusing more on the people who had more of a chance of stopping her. It wasn’t what they wanted, but they hoped their overriding of the controls would take her attention away for just long enough.</p><p>Sofa and Dodo were staring at the broad electrical panel before them. This was technically new territory for them; whenever they had a concert here, they were still in their studio room at home and had technicians working in the venue for them. They understood a few things from their experience dealing with Sayu, as well as the various names on switches and dials, but it was still going to take some trial and error to actually do anything that would distract AI.</p><p>“I suggest we find the lights first.” Sofa said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Diverting that power and getting them back on will make the hologram fainter, which might lead to weaker attacks from AI.” The other two nodded, and they split out to various sections of the panel. Considering they all seemed to be of very similar colours and styles, it was very difficult for them to find anything in the swamp of buttons and sliders, but they were eventually greeted to several switches marked with the word ‘lights’ and nothing more than that. Zuke thought it was a bit redundant to have them all marked with just the one word, but it was a start. </p><p>The trio exchanged glances, before they shrugged at each other and just went to pressing the light switches they could see. From the large window that allowed them to view the stage from their position, they could see what their actions had caused. The spotlights, stage lights, floor lights; literally every light in the venue sprang to life. It was blinding, like a supernova was going off inside the walls of the Utatte Bowl. Needless to say, everyone covered their eyes. </p><p>They heard a small cry out from AI. It was working they assumed, and because of how bright it was, they could imagine AI couldn’t even keep a stable hologram form in this state. The only issue was Mayday and Remi couldn’t do anything either.</p><p>They quickly changed their approach and flicked off the lights, the venue returning to normal. The boys sighed, Dodo speaking up. “Is there someway we can turn off the hologram? In response, Sofa shook his head. “No, the hologram is based through a separate channel and isn’t controlled here. I’m normally the one doing it back at the studio.” </p><p>The boys of team Sayu sighed again, Zuke raising a finger to his chin in thought. After a beat, he asked, “We just have to distract her right? Long enough so they can power up for a blow?” The teens looked to him in curiosity to his next actions. Zuke stepped up to the centre of the console and raised his arms above his head. In a swift motion, he slammed his fists onto the tech and dragged his arms across the surface, any switches and sliders moving to a new position. They glanced to the arena in front of them to AI confused and frustrated as everything electrical based was happening all at once: Screens were turning on, seats were rising up in the over hangs, stage props were appearing out of nowhere -  she was overwhelmed by it all. Dodo and Sofa caught on and smiled, their fingers flying over buttons, turning things on and off over and over again. </p><p>----------------------------</p><p>Mayday and Remi’s battlefield had changed into a sort of messy disco at this point. It was a little disorientating with everything disappearing and reappearing in their vicinity, but whatever the boys were doing, it was working. AI gripped her head and screamed, the constant distractions overloading her system and causing her to begin glitching. May took the opportunity to play her guitar and build up the power metre, looking towards Remi to see if anything was happening. </p><p>Remi’s face was beaming, his eyes lit up by the screen he was staring at. He watched as the bar and percentage grew with each strum from the guitar.</p><p>76%</p><p>78%</p><p>80%</p><p>They needed just a little more. Sensing the time was now with the sounds of the broken idol in his ears, he sprinted to the entrance, popping around the corner to greet Tila. “Tila, you gotta sing for us! Sayu is almost finished! We just need a little more!”</p><p>Tila’s face fell and she reeled back in uncertainty. “I’m not sure I can…”</p><p>Remi wasn’t having any of it and grabbed her by the hoodie, attempting to drag her into the fight. She screamed at him “No! Get off me!” She shuffled out of his grasp and shoved him away from her. She fell to her knees with her head in her hands and tears falling from her eyes. She thought she could do this back in the storeroom, but the feeling was even worse now, a pit a dread lacing her stomach. She felt like she wanted to puke. Or pass out. Or both. The dread of the situation was dawning on her, and she really didn’t like it.</p><p>AI growled and began to pull at her hair. “ENOUGH!” </p><p>Zuke, Dodo and Sofa watched as she swiped her hand towards their position. Sensing the danger, they ran away from the front of the room to barely avoid a large surge of electricity spurting out of the console and frying any chance they had to get her locked in place again. It was up to the ground squad now.</p><p>-----------------------</p><p>“Remi! How are we doing!?”</p><p>Mayday was weary of the idol coming back to her senses so was playing as fast as she could. Some confirmation from her teen friend would have been nice, but she continued none the less. She was playing right up till the last second when AI flicked her hair back behind her head and let out a deep sigh of relief. The idol lay her eyes on May, and smiled at her, knowing she was currently alone. </p><p>“Oh no.”</p><p>All at once, AI set everything she had been summoning at the guitarist. From saw blades to stars, they were coming at Mayday heavy, forcing the girl to stop performing. She was very swift with her movements, but even with her experience, it wasn’t enough. As she flipped to dodge a wave of spikes, a saw blade caught her ankle, cutting her skin and sending her off course to landing. She didn’t even touch the ground when a heart plunged right into her stomach, sending her soaring through the air and landing on the ground in a pile. She attempted to get up, but the blow Luthor had delivered to her came crashing back, the new pain only adding to the agony. </p><p>May weakly raised her head to look at the hologram on stage. She was glitching, but that didn’t stop her victorious grin from crushing Mayday’s hopes. AI giggled softly and swirled a finger around her head to materialise an orange saw blade. She blew a kiss and winked. AI snapped her fingers as the blade flew for May.</p><p>“NOOOOOO!”</p><p>A voice boomed over the speakers as Tila ran out in front of Mayday, her voice melodically singing the words. Her singing was powerful, letting out a blast of air that shattered the oncoming blade. AI’s face dropped as Tila turned her attention to her.</p><p>The hologram shook her head, her body glitching in and out of existence with pieces of code and bits exposed. “No! You’re supposed to be terrified of singing! It says so in your file!”</p><p>Tila placed her hand on her chest. “I still am. I’m terrified right now.” She glared at AI. “You can hurt me all you want. But if you hurt my friends, the main people who have supported me enough to allow me to sing, then I’m going to fight through that fear.” All the boys joined behind her, with Zuke helping up Mayday. “I’m not going to be scared anymore. Especially against you.”</p><p>“Pyuuuuuuuu!”</p><p>The voice came from the tablet. Remi checked it, the display reading:</p><p>SAYU: 100%</p><p>After a quick exchange of glances between Team Sayu, he pressed the button at the bottom of the screen.</p><p>The group watched as the venue lit up with blue light, bubbles and sea creatures projected above them in the air. From the corners of the room, trails of blue, pink and white sparkles shot towards the centre of the space and began to take shape; the fins, the tail, the body, the arms, and finally, the head, forming a blurry projection of Sayu in the air.</p><p>“NO! YOU CAN’T!” Screamed AI. She made a circle over her head with her finger, but nothing happened, causing the idol to glitch more.</p><p>A burst of bright white light came from the projection, making the artists shield their eyes. When it was faded, they stared up in amazement and elation, for Sayu in all her glory, was there bobbing her mermaid body up and down.</p><p>Dodo moved his body to the left, and then to the right, Sayu following him as he went. Tila spoke into the microphone and the high-pitched electronic voice came over the speakers. They were fully compatible with their friend in her digital world.</p><p>Meaning they were fully capable of finishing AI.</p><p>“Are you ready guys?” Cried Tila through Sayu, to which Dodo, Remi and Sofa all cheered along. </p><p>Sayu swam through the air towards AI and picked the idol up by her hair. The glitched hologram was demanding to be put down, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. The mermaid brought AI to her face and booped her nose, before chucking her into the air. Sayu kept flicking the orange girl up with her tail, building momentum, each sentence was punctuated by:</p><p>LOVE!</p><p>LOVE!</p><p>SHAKALAKA!</p><p>BAM!</p><p>On the final words, Sayu hit AI with all her tail strength, sending the hologram soaring out the roof of the building. The watched as AI disappeared in flutters of orange sparkles against the night sky, signalling that another artist was down.</p><p>Team Sayu ran towards Tila and hugged her. The team was finally reunited – all of the team being present at last. “Tila that was amazing!” Dodo said. The singer giggled embarrassingly. “I kinda thought it was pretty cool too… though so terrifying…” The rest of the group laughed with her. They all took peace in the moment, just enjoying each other’s embrace after such a stressful experience. </p><p>The tablet bleeped, the group pausing to look at its screen. On it was a mini 8-bit Sayu gesturing to a button marked override. The automated Sayu voice spoke through the screen. “Oopsies! Looks like Akusuka is having some deep-sea trouble! Please override to get things sailing again!”</p><p>The team gladly pressed the button and as a result, the night sky was filled with all the bright pastel lights of Akusuka once again. They had their district back.</p><p>“Hey, hate to ruin the moment,” Interjected Zuke. “But we should probably get back. We have lots of injured people here.” He squeezed his jacket and water poured out of it. “Also, some fresh clothes might be nice.”</p><p>They nodded in solidarity. Remi raised a hand. “We just need to quickly stop at the studio.” He waved the tablet a little. “Really can’t work with a broken device, and we can get some of our clothes when we’re there.”</p><p>Upon agreement, they set off, leaving behind the ocean theme venue, and the erased from of AI once and for all.</p><p>--------------------</p><p>“Betty… How are the preparations going?”</p><p>Luthor was staring through the large window of the office at his city with a cup of tea in one hand and a saucer in the other. He could see two of the main districts lit up, a sign that he had lost another piece of his territory to NSR. Though he recalled saying it wasn’t a bother when Cast Tech had first been taken, it became more bothersome now. Sure, he still had three more districts, but with the doubt setting in his mind, how long would that last? </p><p>The secretary pushed a stray hair into place in her beehive, making sure she was presentable for her boss. “Well… AI has informed us that she completed her task. We might be able to download her back, sir, if you require it.”</p><p>Luthor scoffed. “Download someone who failed me? I see no point in doing so.” He turned to face the assistant, who dropped her gaze as not to make eye contact. As he approached his desk and placed his beverage on its surface, Betty took a few steps back towards to door to allow for space between them. Luthor chuckled. “Our feathered friend is already on the way, are they not? Perhaps they can deal with these NSR musicians.” He clicked his fingers in remembrance. “Ah! Speaking of which, please arrange for a meeting with my head of training and auditions. I’d love to pay him and the former head of NSR a visit sometime soon - see how things are going.”  </p><p>Betty tried to hastily take a note of it on her device, but her trembling hands proved to be troublesome, which resulted in the tablet falling from her grip. It fell at the feet of Luthor who stared at it in frustration. Betty stumbled through an apology, her words catching in her mouth as she trudged forward bent over to grab it back up. When it was in her hands once again, she glanced up to Luthor for a split second to see a look of disapproval emblazoned on his face. She felt the world around her become quiet and obsolete, like an overbearing weight was being placed on her; far away or up close, he was a very intimidating man. </p><p>She retracted back to a standing position with mumbled apologies, and finally took the note down. </p><p>“I haven’t been in contact with our acquaintance recently, how are they doing?” The man asked, fiddling with the cuffs of his shirt. </p><p>“Oh well… since they’re working in accordance with AKIKO, we have to wait for her to tell us what they’ve found…” She started to slowly hide behind the tablet. “And well… she hasn’t told us anything yet…”</p><p>Luthor’s demeanour seemed to change from one of overbearing confidence to anger. His posture became tense, his hands curling into fists. He rolled his eyes. “Foolish girl… can’t ask her to do anything. I should have given the district to someone else.”</p><p>Betty spoke up. “Well sir... to be fair… you haven’t-”</p><p>The assistant was interrupted by the sound of the office door opening, the two of them turning to look at the intruder. They were accompanied by guards who were demanding, “You’re not supposed to be here! This is private grounds!” The intruder didn’t seem fussed, choosing to ignore them by waving a hand of dismissal. Upon laying eyes on Luthor, the figure seemed to beam with excitement.<br/>“Ah, Luthor Bajingan! Head of the Estallia Corporation!” They bowed in respect. “Such an honour to meet someone so powerful.”</p><p>Luthor strode towards the person, his face in a scowl. “I don’t think you understand what you’re doing, but I suggest you leave. Now.”</p><p>The intruder put their hands up in defence. “Fair enough,” They turned on their heels to walk out the door. “I just thought that you might need the help of someone who has dealt with NSR before.” They smirked and peered over their shoulder. “You know, since you’ve already lost… how many districts already?”</p><p>The head of Estallia sensed the antagonizing tone and steeled himself, bringing his hands to meet behind his back. “And what could you possibly offer to me that I might not already have?” He locked eyes with the figure and stared them down. “In case you don’t know, we still have Tatiana in lockdown. And even If some districts are gone, my plan is still in motion. They can’t stop us now.”</p><p>He watched the intruder smile and gesture wide with their hands. “Why, research, data and experience! Your artists may be strong, but you don’t really know the first thing about who NSR are and what they’re capable of.” They smirked once again. “And looking at how three of your artists have failed already… I can imagine information regarding your enemy post haste would be of benefit to you.”</p><p>The suggestion started to pique Luthor’s curiosity with him raising an eyebrow in response. “Should I take you up on your offer, what do you possibly get out of this arrangement? I have nothing to offer you, and my artist training association is backlogged for years.”</p><p>The figure chuckled. “Just having the opportunity to try my ideas again will be all I want out of this.”</p><p>Luthor smiled sinisterly and made his way towards the figure, extending a hand. They took it, and with a shake, the agreement was sealed, each person joyous with the chance to work with one another. Luthor was the first to speak once the deal had been made. “I don’t suppose you have a name, sir? I’d hate to work with someone without being formally acquainted.”</p><p>The man smiled. “Kliff. You can call me Kliff. It will be an honour working with you, Mr Bajingan.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The songs for this chapter are based around BABYMETAL and Vocaloid songs by Utsu-P, a mixture of cute vocals and heavy metal. Specific songs are:</p><p>'BABYMETAL - DokiDoki Morning'<br/>'BABYMETAL - Headbangeeeeeeeeeer'<br/>'Utsu-P - Death of the Law'</p><p>Reminder there's a RTR discord: https://discord.gg/CbpG594</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. vs. Glean</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>HAHA, you thought it would be an intermission, but you were fooled! <br/>BATTLE HYPE WOOO!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was refreshing to see Akusuka in all its glory as Bunkbed Junction and Team Sayu began to make their way back to the sewers. They had just gotten rid of AI and restored back the virtual persona to the district. It showed that they were back in control, the screens returning to showing the advert for shellfish that was frequently played on them, and the bold yellows, pinks and blues decorating every inch of the place. It was another sign that they were winning against Estallia; another step closer to reaching their goal and taking the city back.</p><p>The group had already gone to the Team Sayu studio to grab a few things; most notably a new tablet, Dodo’s katana which he insisted he should take, and some new clothes to replace the soaking wet ones they had worn from the AI fight. Whilst there, Remi had gotten onto their computer and downloaded Sayu onto the tablet, allowing them to keep their persona nearby and preventing anything else happening to her. The times when they didn’t have her seemed like a distant memory now, the very thought of her being deleted seemingly impossible. But they were glad she was back now, and as bubbly as ever as she swam across the screen of the device, giggling to herself.</p><p>They didn’t seem to find many medical supplies when they were there, much to Mayday’s dismay. Zuke had managed to place some plasters over some cuts and bruises that littered her skin, but those didn’t do much to stop the throbbing pain her stomach was experiencing. It seemed that the bruise Luthor gave her was always creeping back up to haunt her, reminding her that he was still out there in control of everything. It had grown since Zuke last looked at it, the blotchiness beginning to spread up her body towards her chest. It wasn’t much of a surprise though; how many times had she been hit there at this point? It was too many to count. Maybe they should take a break before heading into Natura to take that artist down, she thought.</p><p>Once everything was wrapped up and gathered from the studio, they made their exit, escaping back into the bright lights of Akusuka once more. They made quick work getting through the district and into Cast Tech, even with Zuke having to support Mayday to walk. Despite the help he was giving her, Zuke still felt some tension between them. He was sure that through that battle with AI that the two of them would have forgotten about their argument beforehand, but it seemed that, Mayday at least, was still holding onto some aspects of resentment. He shook it off though; he said he would talk to her later about it, they could talk when they were safe and sound again.</p><p>As they stepped into Cast Tech, they heard the faint sound of music being played from Club Planetarium. It was more than likely LP, who were looking after the building and the district for DJ Subatomic Supernova. It wasn’t exactly the disco music they were used to hearing from Cast Tech, but hearing any music that was from an artist on their side was nice and reassuring.</p><p>Tila chimed up, excited at the possibility of being back in a safe space. “We’re almost there, guys.” She was being led by Dodo, who had her hand in his and was guiding her through the streets. She could only really tell where they were by the sound of the music, but it was better than nothing, and she wasn’t wrong. They were nearing the centre of Cast Tech now.</p><p>Though many only see a small portion of Cast Tech – typically a few side streets and shops – the size of the district is actually quite large: arguably one of the biggest districts in the entirety of Vinyl City. One of the many places that fall below a viewer’s eye is the famous Astro Square; a huge social space with a floor made with cast iron littered with various pieces of other metals as to give the illusion that you were walking amongst the stars. In the centre lays a sculpture of the solar system, an illuminated golden sun in the middle with rotating discs and all the planets surrounding it. It fitted the space aesthetic well, like DJ Subatomic Supernova had designed it himself.</p><p>Mayday put up hand up to signal the group. “Hey guys, a little break please.”</p><p>Zuke rolled his eyes. “We’re almost there, I’m sure you can wait.” He said, almost coldly. Mayday scowled at him, before she wiggled in his grasp and escaped, trudging over to a nearby bench and gently lowering herself down on it. Team Sayu joined her in resting, asking if she was okay to which she replied “Yeah, I’m okay. It’s starting to hurt a lot more is all. I should be fine to go soon.” Zuke rolled his eyes again, before making his way over to the sculpture in the centre and staring at it. Though he had done a degree, it wasn’t exactly hard to see what it meant; it was supposed to be what it was: the solar system. But he couldn’t help but notice little details here and there that reminded him of Eve’s work such as the shape of the rings or the painted details on planets to name a few. Perhaps Supernova commissioned her to make it.</p><p>He continued staring at it, before something white fell in front of his face. His eyes adjusted to see the object as It landed softly in the pain of his hand. It felt fluffy against his skin, yet sturdy like steel. He picked it up with a pinch, turning it left and right to view every inch of it. It appeared to be a feather and felt like one too in a way. But it was strange. The only birds that really flew over Vinyl City were pigeons and they were always grey. He considered the possibility of a dove, but as he admired it further, he realised that it was way too big for any kind of bird, the size of it almost as big as his hand from fingertip to base. At this point, Zuke could no longer hear the team talking behind him, he was that invested in this object…</p><p>But then again… he couldn’t hear the music that was playing over the speakers in Cast Tech either.</p><p>He spun around to look at Mayday and Team Sayu. They were still talking and laughing with each other as Remi showed something on the Tablet to the rest. He could see their lips moving, but nothing met his ears. It was like all sound had vanished from the universe around him. Something was wrong.</p><p>He would quickly discover what though, as the feather lifted up from his palm and began to levitate in front of his face, before darting straight at him, digging into the fabric of his clothes and lifting him off the ground. In one motion, the feather dragged him by the scruff of his jacket and into a nearby lamp post, slamming his head onto the metal cylinder and causing the light to malfunction.</p><p>Team Sayu got to their feet in an instant, Dodo and Sofa running to aid Zuke. “Dude, are you okay?” asked Dodo, checking over him to see if he was alright. Zuke groaned and rubbed the back of his head, feeling something wet lacing his hair. He brought his hands in front of his face to see red over his skin. It wasn’t much, but he cursed nonetheless, agitated at the attack from seemingly nowhere. </p><p>The feather started to float again, waving around in the air almost like it was laughing at him. Zuke frowned and shouted, “Hey! If you’re here to fight us, then at least have the strength to show yourself!” He hoped nothing would come out of it, but that dream was quickly snuffed as a maniacal laughter evolved around the square. Much to his horror, the voice was familiar.</p><p>“Long time no see huh, Junkbed Junction!”</p><p>Coming down from one of the rooftops around the plaza came black clothed punk, his hair now a fiery red mohawk compared to his long emo hair from last time. The punk wiped his nose with a smirk. Mayday seethed upon seeing him, attempting to get up but falling back down from the pain. She glared at him.</p><p>“Truss, leave now.” Mayday commanded. “We’ve beaten you once, and we’ll do it again.” </p><p>Truss laughed, the chains jingling on his waist. “Did YOU though? Or did you have some help from your friends?” He ran his fingers through his hair, a smile of confidence emblazoned on his face. “You also weren’t reeling from a fight then; AI did you dirty didn’t she?” He licked his fingers upon saying the A.I.’s name. “I’m not surprised. She’s a feisty girl.”</p><p>Dodo brandished his katana. “We’re not scared of you. Even if we’re hurt, there’s still six of us, and only one of you.”</p><p>Truss clapped his hands. “Oh, that’s right! Allow me to introduce you to my new friend.”</p><p>The moment the words were uttered, another figure came down from the rooftops and landed beside Truss. The figure had a cream and white aesthetic going on with pale white skin, a tight white off the shoulder tank top and baggy cream coloured trousers. Over their shoulders was a suit jacket that dangled over and down their back. To complete their appearance, their hair was something similar to the white 1010 bot, only somehow appearing lighter and fluffier. They looked maybe thirteen or fourteen with a childlike face, but a long, slender body. They seemed stylish yet nonchalant, like they had just gotten out of bed but were also prepared for a fashion show. </p><p>The new figure groaned; their voice gentle yet demanding. “We are not friends. Do not ever associate myself with you. I’m here to help upon request of Luthor. I’m here to get what I asked for, and then leave.” They played with their hair a little, before turning grey eyes onto Zuke. “So, you’re the one that touched my feather. That was foolish of you. Do you frequently take hold of strange objects or is this a one of thing?”</p><p>Zuke glanced to the feather, then back to the figure. “Your feather? You’re the one that attacked me? Did you also make everything quiet?”</p><p>The new artist chuckled. “I will admit, the feather is mine, but that power isn’t. I borrowed it from someone at request. An interesting power, is it not? Shame I was only granted a limited amount.” The feather stood up straight, before shooting across the air to join its owner, emitting a low hum as it made its way across. “But where are my manners?” The figure said. “Allow me to introduce myself. My chosen name is Glean. I’m an artist in partnership with Estallia, though I am not a member of the corporation.” </p><p>“Well then, Glean, if you have manners like you claim, you won’t fight us when it’s an unfair fight.” Tila said, standing strong in front of Mayday with Remi by her side. In response, the artist laughed out loud, and reached a hand to grab the collar of the jacket that laid over their back. They locked eyes with Sayu’s singer, a gentle smirk covering their lips. “I’m afraid that won’t be an option.”</p><p>Glean removed the jacket with a dramatic swoop to reveal what the piece of clothing was hiding. On Glean’s back sat two folded up white feathery wings, almost like an angel’s own. They rolled their shoulders to stretch as the wings unfurled and reached wide across from them, almost hitting Truss who had to step back as to not get hit. They draped the removed shirt over their arm, making sure to iron out any wrinkles. They sighed. “It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to spread my wings, so I must thank you for the opportunity to do so. However…” The NSR artists watched as hundreds of feathers released from their wings and stood ready in the air above Glean. “A shame the chance to see myself in full glory will be short lived.”</p><p>In an instant, the feathers dived to impale the group, screams of fear coming from them. Remi grabbed Tila and Mayday and dived under the bench, splinters of the metal seat chipping and falling off as the storm hit it. Zuke, Sofa and Dodo found cover too, running and lunging towards another bench that was nearby. From under their covers, they could see the attacks would hit something, then retract back into the air, before plunging for another chance to hit the artists. It was like a hurricane out there, a swarm of quills creating a deadly tornado of sharp, knife-like weaponry.</p><p>Mayday groaned and placed a hand on her stomach. She had an idea, but it probably was going to be agonizing for her and wouldn’t help with her recovery, but considering basically everyone else had no way to really attack, it was really her only option. As she took a deep breathe in and held it, she reached a hand behind her back to grab her guitar. She moaned in pain from the motion, air escaping through gritted teeth, but was persistent. Once she had grabbed the neck of the guitar, she carefully lifted it off her back, before biting her lip and flipping herself over so she was facing upwards, placing the instrument in her fingers so she could play it. With a shaking breath, Mayday strummed a chord on her guitar, sending a wave of energy out from it. The blast pushed off the feathers from their location, sending them hurtling back towards Glean… before they adjusted their direction and heads straight back.</p><p>Tila and Remi looked towards Mayday, as she geared up for another. “May, stop, you’re just hurting yourself more.” Tila insisted, worry lacing her voice. The words fell on deaf ears though as she attempted to play again, this time the pain being stronger than before. She was their only means of defence right now really. Even if they didn’t want her to do it, if her playing could get them sometime to at least run, it was better than nothing.  She raised her hand and bought it down onto the strings to play a chord.  </p><p>The sound of the chord came from her guitar, but no power blast emerged.</p><p>Mayday tried again. And again. And again, but for some reason only the sound came out with no power behind it. Her eyes widened as the reality dawned on her that her powers had stopped working, which was strange. Maybe something that AI did? Maybe she was just too exhausted so couldn’t play? Either way, it was horrifying. </p><p>Hopelessness fell over the group as Remi turned to Tila. “Do you think you could sing?” Tila shook her head. “You mean go out in that? Not a chance. I’d be sliced up in an instant. And considering I can only really do what Mayday just did, I would have to sing for minutes to do anything.” She paused for a moment to think. “Is there anything we can do with Sayu?” Now it was Remi’s turn to shake his head as his fingers flew over the tablet. “Sadly, no. The main hologram stations are in Akusuka, and even if we get her a holographic form, we still can’t attack in the physical world.” It seemed the three on them were out of ideas.</p><p>Sofa, Dodo and Zuke saw the failed attack from Mayday, the sound of her playing completely drowned out by the synthetic humming of the feathers. “Have we got any ideas, guys?” Zuke asked, looking at the two teens. He watched them ponder, thinking of possibilities himself. Sofa spoke up, saying, “Dodo, could you use that katana for something?” His friend merely looked at him with a look of disbelief, before replying, “Umm, no? What do you expect me to do, slice up each feather?” Sofa shrugged causing Dodo to stumble on his words. “T-This isn’t a game, Sofa!”</p><p>Meanwhile, Truss and Glean were standing around, the punk-emo admiring the way the feathers moved gracefully but with murderous intent. He was knocked out of his trance by Glean, who gave him a shove. “Hey, I’m here to help, not to do all the work.” They motioned to the cowering artists. “Get them out of their somehow, scream boy.”</p><p>Truss frowned from the insult, but did as he was told, letting out a loud screech that made fire form into his hands and around his feet. When the flame was burning at its hottest, he began to stride forwards and towards the nearest group, which happened to be Mayday, Tila and Remi. As he neared them, the group could feel the heat from the flames growing, watching as the feathers parted to allow the Truss through with ease, then closing behind him. He was so close to them now as sweat started to form on their bodies. Remi looked for somewhere to run, anywhere, but with the incessant feather storm around them, Truss headed right for them and Mayday’s weak state, there was no options.</p><p>Truss chuckled as he stopped in front of the bench, the flames by his feet licking the arms of Tila and Remi. As he tossed the flames between his hands, the three of them closed their eyes and braced for the oncoming flamethrower from the artist. Truss went to take a breath, inhaling deeply to fill his lungs and placing his hand in front of his face as to scream the flames towards them.</p><p>Only to be hit by a Vinyl that smacked his head and fell at his feet.</p><p>Truss’s fire stopped as a result as the singer rubbed his face from the impact. “WHO THE FUCK THREW THAT?” He cried. He glanced around the square, before turning his attention to the vinyl on the floor. He picked it up and looked at either side of the flat object, a mixture of anger and confusion lacing his features. After a beat, the artists watched as Truss lurched in place, sparks flying out of the vinyl as it electrocuted him, causing him to drop it. The disc clattered to the floor and shattered. He was pretty pissed now, but was startled from the sudden shock, swaying in place from dysphoria. Almost in an instant from his immobility, a figure jumped over the bench Mayday, Tila and Remi were under, and kicked Truss in the face, leading to him stumbling back and falling to the ground. His nose dripped blood as he bought his hand to touch the impact point, glancing to his hand, then to the imposter who had ruined his moment. “YOU!!”</p><p>Lola stuck out her tongue before pointing a single finger at him, zapping him some more. Truss jolted from every shock, before evacuating back to Glean and shouting, “I heard you two had left Estallia, seems it was true. You’re traitors to the company!”</p><p>Lola placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. “I have no idea who you are and for that, I really couldn’t care.” She changed her posture to stand in a readied stance, her hands in fists in front of her. “But something I do care about is when you hurt cute girls like Mayday. When you do that, it gets personal. Oh, and you know, it would suck to lose to Estallia yada yada, BUT my statement still stands!”</p><p>Glean stopped the feathers in mid-air and turned their attention onto Lola who narrowed her gaze to glare at the small daggers in the air. Glean sighed, patting down their jacket on their arm. “What a shame that someone who I considered talented would turn against their own corporation.” They brushed off their shoulders. “But if that’s how you want to lay your alliance, then so be it.” </p><p>In a flash, the feathers dove towards Lola, but were quickly disrupted by a blast of electricity from Pete who came sauntering in spinning a wireless microphone in his hand. The feathers shook from the impact and then fell to the ground limp, gently floating to a stop. “Seems like you’ve had a little issue with your feathers. Such as shame.” Pete jested cynically. It didn’t appear to affect the angel though, who smirked before raising a finger, lifting the feathers back up to their height. It earned a sigh and an eye roll from Pete. It left the four artists squaring off at each other and sizing each other up, the air tense. </p><p>Glean dropped his finger and the feather swooped back down for another strike at the twins, who back flipped and cartwheeled out the way, the attacks soaring past them. As the feathers adjusted to turn back on them, Lola bent down near the bench Mayday, Tila and Remi were under. “We can keep them distracted so you guys can get out. Get the help of the other artists, we can last till then.” She winked at them, turning her attention back to the feathers as they gained ground on the two of them, side stepping to avoid getting hit by the projectiles. </p><p>Tila nodded to Mayday and Remi, signalling that leaving was a good idea. They waited till Glean had taken another shot at LP, before Remi and Tila stepped out from under the cover, grabbing one of Mayday’s arms each to hoist her out. It was excruciating for her, but May got to her feet with shaking legs and allowed herself to be half-carried by the teens. They walked as quick as they could, headed for the way towards Festival Plaza, but Truss had other ideas upon seeing them running to escape. He lunged for them with fiery hands, pulling an arm back to blast them with a fireball. In the nick of time, Lola blocked his attack by covering his palms with her own, searing her skin but snuffing out the fire. Lola then sent a bolt through her arms and out her palms, causing Truss to reel back from pain, giving her ample opportunity to punch him in the gut and shout “Go guys go!”  Tila and Remi speedily evacuated themselves from the scene, escaping out of sight of the angel and the punk.</p><p>The only people hidden in the square now were Zuke, Sofa and Dodo, who were observing the fight as it went on, waiting for the opportunity to run. Truss was sparring with Lola, their arms interlocking and clashing as each attempted to get the other with their power, and Pete was battling with Glean, rapping into the mic to blast the feathers back towards their owner. While the blue twin was keeping up with the punk and achieving hits every so often, the pink twin was struggling, his forehead beading with sweat as he struggled to keep up with the power output to continue parrying Glean’s attacks. It wasn’t long before Pete’s shield short circuited, leaving him open to the barrage of quills, the rapper putting his arms up to defend his face from damage. Exhausted, Pete couldn’t manage to dodge anything as the feathers teared open his skin, causing a cry from the twin and alerting his sister. Lola looked towards her brother and dropped her guard to run to help him, only to get pounded in the gut by a flaming fist from Truss and falling to the ground with her arms clenching her body. Once the feathers had past him, Pete fell too, blood dripping out from tiny cuts that littered his body. Now they were down, Glean used two feathers to hoist up the twins, their bodies swinging weakly as they dangled in the air. </p><p>Zuke clenched his fists and addressed the boys that were with him, “I’ve got a plan, are you with me?” They nodded in unison with steeled expressions before Zuke whispered into their ears his idea. The boys took it on, nodding one last time before dispersing as quietly as possible out from the bench, leaving Zuke alone to do his part. He took a deep breath and watched as Truss returned to Glean’s side, evident that they were unprepared for anything else. This was their chance.</p><p>The drummer ran out from beneath the bench and straight towards the swinging twins. With a determined leap, he let his body weight take him forward to collide with Lola and Pete, knocking them off their feathery hooks. At the same time, Sofa and Dodo had done a similar thing to Glean and Truss, pushing them onto the ground whilst they were distracted.</p><p>Zuke, Lola and Pete all tumbled to the ground at once, Pete landing with a thud on the metal ground, and Lola collapsing on top of Zuke’s chest, winding the man, but ensuring she was safe. She raised herself up to her hands, her face inches away from Zuke’s, producing a blush on the drummer’s face. Lola just smirked. “Yeah, you’re really not my type, pretty boy, but I appreciate the save.” She got to her feet and lent him a hand, which he took to help himself up.</p><p>“YOU ARSEHOLES!” Came a cry at one side of the square as Truss sprang to his feet to attempt to hit Dodo and Sofa who were running from him. He stomped on the ground, columns of fire shooting towards the two teens who dodged at the last second. As Truss geared up for another attack, Dodo and Sofa ran out of the square and disappeared from view; another group escaped from the battle arena, leaving just Zuke, Lola and Pete facing off against Truss and Glean.</p><p>Glean picked themselves up off the ground and dusted themselves off with an unimpressed sigh. “How cheap.” They glanced towards the angry punk, saying “Considering this is your battle, you’re not really pulling your weight around, Truss.” Truss spun on his heels to face the angel, a look of disbelief layering on his features. “I’M NOT PULLING MY WEIGHT?!” He huffed. “I’ll show you pulling my weight!”</p><p>In response to Glean’s claims, Truss snapped his fingers, producing a sound like smacking flint and steel together, and lit the hovering feathers on fire. Glean hummed in thought from the action. “It’s hardly doing your part,” they said waving the objects around in the air, the fire flicking behind. “But it’ll do.” They began their assault again, circling the now flaming daggers around the three artists in the centre. </p><p>Zuke covered his face from the fire storm around him, placing a hand over his mouth to stop the smoke. The smell of burning ash filled the air as the tornado picked up speed and began to close in him and LP. It was almost unbearable to deal with, the stench stinging their nostrils as it closed the three of them in. As Zuke started to think of a way out of their situation, Lola nudged him to get his attention and pointed outwards. “Look!”</p><p>It took Zuke a brief moment to see, but as he stared at the surrounding flames, he saw charred pieces of white beginning to dissolve off and slowly waste down to nothing, the remnants drifting off into the wind. It seemed simple now that it was pointed out: The fire was burning the feathers. A plan came to mind as Zuke looked to the twins, signalling to Lola and Pete. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” They voiced their alignment, as Lola opened her mouth to cry,</p><p>“Hey Truss! Your hair sucks! You call this fire?!”</p><p>Now, If the emo-punk singer wasn’t already angry, he was understandably more pissed now more than ever from the insult. His body exploded into flames as he screamed, “I’M GONNA BURN YOU TILL THERE’S NOTHING BUT ASH!”, bringing his arms up straight out in front of him. He channelled all the fire into his arms, the flames disappearing from other parts of his body and circling his hands and forearms. With another powerful scream, Truss released all the pent-up energy towards Zuke, Lola and Pete. Perfect; just what they wanted.</p><p>The outburst of flame spiralled in the direction of the trio. Glean caught wind of the situation, shrieking “NO, WAIT!”, trying to shove Truss to stop his attack, but it was too late. As the embers reached the feather tornado, Zuke yelled, “Get down!” and the three of them dropped to the floor. It wasn’t the best of places to be, but in their position, they watched as the attack destroyed the entire hurricane, before fading away itself. The remains drifted to the ground like black snow. No more hurricane, no more hiding.</p><p>“YOU IDIOT!” </p><p>It was Glean, losing their shit at Truss with their eyes wide in anger and their arm extended. Glean swung their arm and slapped Truss around the face, causing the singer to stumble back with his hand on his cheek. “DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH OF MY WINGS YOU JUST DESTROYED?!” They slapped him again. “I CAN’T GET THAT BACK YOU FUCKING IMBECILE!” By this point, Truss was practically cowering in fear from the angel, realising the power that they held over him. Glean’s anger was short-lived through as they bought a hand up, and then down their face, taking a deep breath in and out. They quickly gained their composure, turning to Zuke, Lola and Pete and speaking in a soft, but hurt voice. “That was a good play. My wings are no matter really, as long as I succeed.” They pulled a feather from either wing and gripped them tightly in their hands. After a flick of their arms, the feathers grew in length, resembling sharp broad swords that emitted the same low hum when they were swung around.</p><p>Pete sighed in frustration. “We’re we this stubborn?” He asked Zuke, who just kinda shrugged in response. They all prepared for another fight with the angel. Zuke was mostly no use in this fight, but he couldn’t just rely on LP for everything, especially when they were just as injured, if not more. They could do this with just the three of them though, he knew it.</p><p>They didn’t have to luckily, as a small girl came running into the square with her arms swinging wildly, hurtling herself towards Glean with a sweet but loud battle cry. When she got close to Glean, Momo wrapped herself around their leg and shouted up at them, “Stop hurting my new family!” She then bit down onto their leg, biting through fabric to dig her teeth into their thigh. Glean yelled from the assault and shook Momo off, the girl falling and tumbling backwards, scraping her knees and elbows on the metal ground.</p><p>Promptly afterwards, the NSR artists came bounding into the square, Dodo, Remi and Sofa leading the bunch. They were without Mayday, Tila or Mother, the former two probably in the sewers trying to recover. The artists split off upon seeing the scene; Yinu and Eve going to help LP and Zuke, and 1010, Neon J, and the boys of Team Sayu standing alert and ready to engage with Glean. Supernova had managed to scoop up Momo and escape back to safety, the young girl sobbing in his arms from her injuries. She was going to get told off for jumping into the fight, but taking care of her and getting everyone out was more of a priority.</p><p>“It’s over, Glean.” Said Dodo, his katana brandished out in front of him. “You can’t fight us all.”</p><p>Glean sighed. “Very well.” They shrunk the feathers back down and stuffed them back into their wings. “Unlike some, I understand when I’m beaten.” They glanced to Truss, who was keeping his distance from the angel, and scowling at the NSRtists. “Well Truss, I’ll leave this to you now. This is your fight after all. If you choose to continue, then that’s on you.” With the words uttered, Glean extended their wings, the length shorter than what Team Sayu has seen from before. They bowed to the group, then flapped their wings and took off from the ground, taking off into the dark sky and disappearing over the rooftops.</p><p>Truss’s eyes widened as he stood up and shouted, “You can’t just leave me here, you coward!” When no response came, he looked to see the artists advancing slowly on him. He was outnumbered even more than before, and with his teammate gone, he didn’t stand a chance. It was all just déjà vu for him. He frowned and clenched his fists in anger. “You can’t keep winning every time! You’re going to fail eventually!” A fiery ring appeared below his feet and surrounded his body. He cried “This isn’t over NSR! You still haven’t beat me!” The ring grew in height and covered him, heat spreading outwards, making the artists take a step back. After a beat, they faded away, and Truss was gone. Again. </p><p>It was frustrating to have Truss escape. As the artists gathered, checking over each other for injuries with Lola and Peet insisting they were fine, they thought if they would ever get the chance to take Truss down once and for all. He would more than likely return for a fight with another teammate to support him, but the next time he did, they would be ready to take him down.</p><p>The artists were only three districts away from the NSR tower now: so close, yet so far. But with Tatiana’s whereabouts still unknown, Truss still at large, and without information on two of the three remaining Estallia artists, the journey to retrieve back their city from the hands of Luthor was going to be a long and painful one, but one they were prepared to take.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Though it isn't elaborated on a lot, Glean's music is Synthwave! The songs suggestions for this chapter are Glean and Truss combined to make Synthmetal - One group I looked at was "Dance with the Dead" which I think UmbraGShade recommended to me, so thank you!<br/>- 'Dance with the Dead - Banshee'<br/>- 'Dance with the Dead - Get out'</p><p>Honestly I was just listening to the B sides: Volume 1 album that's on YouTube. They're good.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. A thoroughfare of doubt</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So the fanfic got a shout out during the AMA stream, which is cool. And we're almost near 10,000 hits, which is also cool. <br/>I do wanna thank people for reading though. Writing this has helped a lot with my confidence, and even if there's going to be like 35 chapters to this fic that's going to take me till maybe Jan/Feb next year to finish, I'm glad I can write it for myself and people who enjoy my stuff. So Thank you.<br/>I do want to kind of expand on this fanfic with something I've named "Project Pink", but I'm going to have to wait and see if I can do that. Fingers crossed.<br/>Anyway, have a chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Maybe it would be wise for you to rest for a while, Mayday” </p><p>The artists had arrived back with Lola and Peet to the sewers after their ordeal with Glean and Truss, many of them exhausted. It felt like they would never get a proper break from Estallia even when they tried to. At least Truss was gone again for now, and they had managed to get to safety where they could heal and fix anyone who was seriously injured; namely Mayday and Tila – much to Mayday’s protest.</p><p>“Guys, I just need some sleep and some time to heal” assured Mayday as the teens helped her to lie down on the couch. “I should be more then ready to fight the Natura artist tomorrow.” She moved a little too quickly and she lay her head back on the cushions, sending pain shooting through her body. “Or maybe the day after. Whatever, my point is I can deal with this.”</p><p>The artists gave her a look of disbelief, before Yinu responded with “No… I do not want you to help me get Natura back if you’re going to get hurt more…” Her voice was filled with sadness as her eyes welled with tears. May smiled softly and tussled Yinu’s flowerful hair. “Hey, I’ll be okay. I should be fine in no time.” She said, earning a look of unsureness from the pianist.</p><p>Zuke huffed. “May, why are you being so stubborn? I get your all ‘I’m strong’ and everything, but you’re just going to slow us down at this point.” He mumbled under his breathe as he looked through shelves for new drumsticks, since AI had destroyed his previous ones. “Just look what happened at the fight with Truss and Glean.”</p><p>Mayday furrowed her brow, talking back with “Well I’m sorry, but it wasn’t exactly my fault that we were ambushed. Maybe if you hadn’t been stupid enough to get your drumsticks wrecked, we would have stood more of a chance.”</p><p>“Oh, you mean getting them destroyed from trying to save people? At least I’m not the one who keeps fighting when she’s hurt! Notice how you’ve been saved every fight so far. Neraka, Momo did a better job fighting Glean then you did!”</p><p> “Says the guy whose best idea in that fight was to shove over people! Doesn’t sound the greatest when it’s said out loud, lah izzit?!”</p><p>“ENOUGH!”</p><p>The shout came from Eve as she banged six fists onto the table, the thud resonating and bouncing all around the room. Needless to say, the two of them shut up, avoiding eye contact with each other. Eve let out an exasperated sigh. “Solve you lover’s quarrels some other time the pair of you! We have more important things to focus on then who did what in a fight.” She pointed to May with one set of hands. “You are not allowed to leave that spot unless I say so. You are not going to Natura.” She looked towards Zuke, using her other set of hands to point to him. “As for you, you will sort out your drumstick situation one way or the other and then head with Yinu and her Mother to Natura tomorrow morning.” Zuke opened his mouth to object, but Eve merely stopped him by raising all her hands. “Nope, I am not going to hear it.” She spun the drummer around and pushed him towards his workshop. “Get to it.” He seemed annoyed, but did as he was told.</p><p>Eve, Mother and Yinu set off fixing up Mayday, Tila, Lola, and Peet. Mayday was grumbling under her breath as Mother delicately dabbed her gashes, making sure to be gentle. There weren’t many to deal with, so she quickly sorted and bandaged any up she could see. Now it was time for the thing that was causing the most trouble: her stomach.</p><p>Mother wrung out a wet cloth and politely instructed, “Please lift up your vest top.” With shaky fingers and a pain in her arms, Mayday hooked her fingers under the fabric of her top and lifted, exposing the bruise to Mother and earning a gasp of shock. The bruise had grown substantially since the last time, seemingly wrapping its purple and blue hues around her body and stretching up her torso to her shoulders. Mother’s brow furrowed, a look of concern laying on her features. “Oh my, this is much worse than I thought.” She said as she traced a finger over the edges she could see. Even with little pressure, Mayday still winced from it, her face scrunching up from the aching. Mother quickly retracted her hand.</p><p>“Is it that bad?” Mayday asked, trying to peer down at her stomach from her laying position. The others near them had looked by now, Lola answering her question by saying “That Bad?! Dude, it’s like your wearing a bruise coloured top under your normal clothes! It’s huge! Did you fight us with that thing?!” May looked away from Lola. The lack of reply left Lola to throw up her arms in disbelief.</p><p>“What happened in that fight?” Peet questioned as he was getting fussed over by Eve who was trying to keep him still. “I heard your guitar as we were running to the square, but nothing seemed to be happening.”</p><p>Oh yeah, that, Mayday thought. She had forgotten about it in the mix of things, preoccupied with just getting out of the battle. She remembered she had tried to play her guitar, but no power came out of it. At first, she considered that something was wrong with her instrument, but considering Lola and Peet could still hear it, that meant the only option was something was wrong with her. </p><p>Power is a complicated thing, and May hadn’t payed too much attention in school when they were explaining it – too busy doodling in her books - but she did remember that the power came from the person, music was just a way of channelling it outwards. Many spend their wholes lives not using that power and choosing to just let it lay dormant, but some, like herself, choose to learn how to harness it and use it. Everyone’s power is different for the most part, with a few similarities here and there. It was one of the reasons she started to play guitar in the first place; and Kul Fyra as well, of course. Even though she didn’t understand it fully, she knew the fact that her attack hadn’t worked that day was a worrying one, especially when more than ever did she need it.</p><p>She glanced to her guitar that sat upright and leaning against the coffee table in front of the couch. Her heart sank at the possibilities: What if it’s gone forever? What if you can’t help your friends in this now? Would Zuke leave the band if he knew she didn’t have power anymore? It was all a big mess in her head, a headache adding to the tight feeling in her stomach. </p><p>Mother could see the conflict in Mayday’s face. She smiled, turning to pick up the guitar and then gently placing it in May’s hands. “There is no point in worrying until you know the result. Go on, play.”</p><p>The words were comforting to her, calming her nerves and worries a little. She did what was asked and aligned her fingers on the neck to play a simple chord. With shaky arms, she brushed her hand across the strings, concentrating everything inside of her into her guitar. She closed her eyes, hearing the metallic sound of the instrument resonate around the room, and felt the flow of energy explode from her fingertips, unleashing a concentrated attack towards the sewer ceiling. The blow made a dent in the structure, but to see that she had actually damaged something was relieving. Her powers were back - no need to stress.</p><p>She grinned wide and handed her guitar back to Mother for her to take. It bugged her though: why did they just disappear suddenly during that fight? She hadn’t experienced it with Truss before, maybe Glean was doing something? Seemed unlikely though; they only appeared to use their feathers for attacks. It was strange, but at least they were back. She could figure it out later.</p><p>---------------------------------------</p><p>“You understand how foolish that was, don’t you, Momo?” Supernova asked. He was kneeling down wiping Momo’s knees and legs, cleaning the blood and dirt that had gotten into the little cuts that littered her skin. He was frankly a little disappointed in himself that he had just let her run off from the group, blaming himself for the reason she was hurt. He supposed it could have been worse though, considering the injuries the others had received from their encounter with Glean. Speaking of, he would have to help Zuke later on with his head injury. The team were lucky it wasn’t anything extreme because the idea of having Mayday and Zuke in the same room at the moment wasn’t a good one. Zuke’s injuries could wait.</p><p>Momo wiped her snotty nose with a sleeve, small sobs coming from her mouth. “I-I-I just wanted to help… G-Glean was a bad person…” </p><p>The DJ smiled softly as he finished off cleaning her wounds and put plasters on. He had let Momo draw on them beforehand, so they were covered with little bats and hearts and music notes. “There,” He said, gently booping Momo’s knee. “All better.”</p><p>She smiled for a moment, then her face fell again as she looked to the phone by her side. It was simple and a pink colour, with silly stickers darted over the device. Supernova had seen her look at it every so often whilst they waited for Team Sayu and B2J to return from Akusuka, but every time she would look at it, it would always result in her looking sad afterwards. Considering she was looking for her mother, he assumed she was waiting for a text back or something, but it wasn’t going well.</p><p>After a pause, he said sweetly, “I’m sure your mother is just busy or stuck somewhere. She’s probably worried sick to death about you.”</p><p>Momo sniffled and picked up the phone, opening it to a text thread. The contact name was just love heart emojis with some music notes either side. The thread showed that Momo had been texting frequently - at least twice a day – a wall of messages on the right side of the screen in a language Supernova assumed was Asian by the style of writing. The DJ’s heart sank when he saw there wasn’t a single reply on the other side. “You love her very much, don’t you?” He asked, the reality tugging at his heart strings.</p><p>The young girl sobbed a little. “I love her more than anything… She’s so important to me…” She giggled a little. “I didn’t have to learn Japanese, but I wanted to for her. Her singing is always so amazing, I wanted to learn every song she had… but now…” He eyes started to well with tears, her sobs becoming louder. “I-I Just wish I could do m-more…”</p><p>Supernova placed a comforting hand on her head as he wiped a stray tear from her cheek with a finger. “You will get to hear her sing again, I promise.”</p><p>The assurance made her pause, before leaping and wrapping her arms around the DJ as she whispered a tiny “Thank you…” into his jacket. He reciprocated the hug, a warm smile on his face as he leant down to give a kiss on her forehead. After a beat, they separated, and the DJ pointed to the studio where Zuke was staring at his shards of drumstick. “Why don’t you see if you can help? I can see from your phone that you like arts and crafts, maybe you can give him ideas.”</p><p>Momo wiped her face, a grin beaming from ear to ear. “Okay!” She said, excited at the opportunity to do something she enjoyed. With no hesitation, Supernova watched as she bounded over to Zuke, leaving the DJ to turn his attention to the Team Sayu who were doing something over in the corner.</p><p>-----------------------------------</p><p>Zuke was not in the greatest of moods. It was bad enough that his drumsticks were broken to a point of no repair and he didn’t have any spares, but to get into another argument with Mayday where she was being ridiculous and stupid just pushed him over the edge. To be fair though, he probably should have had a spare set of drumsticks. It never crossed his mind that he would get them destroyed by an evil murderous A.I. system, or destroyed by anything frankly; they were NSR branded so should have been the very best. But then again, it probably never occurred to the makers that they would get destroyed by an evil murderous A.I. system either.</p><p>He groaned and rubbed his temple, feeling a headache coming on from all the stress. How was he going to sort this out?</p><p>“Umm, do you need help Mr Zuke?”</p><p>Zuke glanced down to his right, Momo standing there twiddling her fingers. Her eyes were a little puffy like she had been crying, but she mostly just appeared to be a little shy, her gaze towards the floor. The offer of help relaxed Zuke a little. The drummer scratched the back of his head. “Well… I don’t really know how you can help…” He looked around his workshop, an assortment of various tools, trinkets and parts organised into boxes and tubs. Only – they weren’t organised, his anger growing as he saw things were in the wrong place and mixed together. Most notably the guitar section was the messed up. He scowled: Mayday.</p><p>He hummed in thought, before suggesting, “Maybe you can help me find something I can change into drumsticks? It would take less time to find things with someone helping me.”</p><p>Momo nodded excitedly, and quickly started looking around the room and through all the boxes. Zuke followed suit, rummaging through tubs of random junk. It took a little while, but eventually a small cry of “This looks cool!” came from across the workshop. Zuke looked up at the sound and saw Momo with half her body in the trash bin, her little legs wiggling so she could propel herself further in. The drummer came to attention and ran to gently grip the girl around the waist to pull her out so she wouldn’t get stuck in there. She giggled a tiny “Weeeeee!” as she was lifted into the air then placed safely onto the ground. She had something in her hand, which she showed to Zuke who took it from her. It was some shards of metal which he recognised as being some old pieces from the stage of the underground venue where they frequently played. They had done some renovations not long ago with Zuke’s help; he assumed he must have taken some of the scraps for himself.</p><p>Momo rocked on her heels as she looked up hopefully at Zuke. “Is it good? Did I do good?”</p><p>Zuke looked at the pieces of metal over as he hummed in thought. They were two relatively long shards that were a nice weight in his hands, and they were sturdier than his previous drumsticks because of their construct. Sure, he was used to wood, but it wasn’t like other drummers hadn’t used metal drumsticks before. It would take some work to form them into shape, but it was possible. He turned and laid a hand on Momo’s head. “Yeah kid, you did good.” She was ecstatic after that, getting all giddy and over excited, running around the workbench. Zuke chuckled before stopping her hyper running. “Hey hey, calm down. They’re not drumsticks yet, we’ve got to shape them first.” He opened a draw and pulled out two sets of tinted goggles, offering one to Momo. “You want to watch?” </p><p>She practically bounced up and down from the offer. “Yeah! Yeah!” She giggled. Zuke placed on his goggles before helping the girl with her own. They were a little too big for her even after he had tightened them, but they were still covering her eyes so they would do. Zuke leant over to a side and picked up a blow torch and a hammer.</p><p>“Let’s start, shall we?”</p><p>---------------------------------------------------</p><p>“We’re probably gonna head back out to Cast Tech if it’s okay with you.”</p><p>By this point, everyone other than Zuke had been tended to, their injuries cleaned and protected by whatever means they had. Once Eve had finished rolling her eyes at Peet who had been stubborn in not letting the fashionista tidying him up a bit, the twins had stood up to leave. DJ Subatomic Supernova got to his feet as well, asking, “Leaving so soon? I would hate to send the two of you back when you’re still injured.”</p><p>Peet had dismissed him. “It’s fine, we can recover in Club Planetarium. You told us to look after it after all.” He leant into the DJ, covering his mouth with a hand. “And honestly, being here when the vibe is kinda tense? No thank you.” Supernova nodded in understanding as he looked over to Lola and Mayday having a conversation of some kind. The two of them appeared to be laughing at each other, the first time he had seen Mayday smile properly since they arrived back. He didn’t want to admit it, but he needed the two Plutonians to get along again, or there was going to be some serious issues later on.</p><p>“Lola come on, we gotta go.”</p><p>The blue twin looked up from Mayday to her brother and pouted. “Do we have to go so soon? I mean…” She motioned with her eyes to the guitarist on the couch, hoping Peet could take the message. “I gotta look after Mayday, make sure she’s healing okay with that big bruise of hers.” She winked very obviously at Peet; the gesture almost comical in nature. Her brother was having none of it though, pointing to the ladder up to the surface with a monotone face. Lola sighed frustratingly as she stepped away from May, saying her goodbyes with, “You get better, little cherry. You’re much better in top condition. I’ve gotta take you out to places sometime soon and I can’t do that if you’re injured.” </p><p>The twins made their way to the exit ladder as everyone wished them well. Peet saluted to them and started climbing up, followed by Lola who gave the group finger guns, tripped over her own feet and laughed awkwardly, then climbed up after her brother. Within seconds, they had disappeared out top.</p><p>The room fell into silence afterwards, only the faint sounds of Zuke in his workshop filling the pause. It was thankfully later punctuated by Team Sayu and 1010 who were crowded around Remi with the tablet. Sayu was on screen swimming around and making terrible puns like producing some raisin cookies and saying that people not liking them was ‘un-raisin-able’ earning an outburst of laughter from the groups.</p><p>After a couple more puns, Sayu seemingly paused part way through a sentence, stopping and looking around the screen. They watched with curiosity as she hummed in thought then said, “I think I’ve found something that will ready get your bubbles bursting! Do you want to see?” The groups quickly responded with an agreement and watched as Sayu disappeared into one of the files on screen. Remi clicked on it in an attempt to chase after the mermaid, but every time one file loaded, they would see her dive into another one causing a constant chase until she was going to reach her destination. It occurred the most of Team Sayu’s members that it came to a point where the amount diving began to be odd. The group certainly didn’t remember the device having this many files, and the fact Sayu kept on going was almost worrying.</p><p>Sayu eventually stopped in front of a folder called “R.UN.A” and gestured with her arms towards it saying, “This is the one!” She put on some glasses from out of nowhere and stared at the folder with a finger on her chin. “It says here that it’s encrypted, and SUPER hard to get into. Oh!” She reached an arm towards the file and stuck her hand in, pulling out a little piece of paper which she read out loud. “It says ‘Because we have a common enemy’.” She flipped it to look on the back of it, then turned it over to the front again. “There’s no name on it.”</p><p>Team Sayu exchanged glances, Dodo being the first to comment. “Is someone helping us? What do they mean by common enemy?” </p><p>The tablet was taken from Remi’s hands by Red, who groaned and said, “How about we just open it and find out?” He reached a robotic finger to touch the screen where the folder was. It opened, but then promptly closed itself again, displaying a code on screen that was followed by the words ‘Access Denied’. </p><p>Remi snatched the tablet back from him, his eyes glaring at the 1010 bot. “Sayu said it was encrypted, we can’t just open it.” He pushed up his glasses and hummed. “Whoever left this for us in our own files clearly has some technological skills, and more than likely wants to help us. Whatever is in here must be important.” Sofa and Dodo had already started moving by this point to grab cables nearby to plug into the tablet, practically in sync with their friend. Remi smirked, before addressing the room. “If we get this open, we could get an advantage against Estallia or something better. We can start working on it now while the rest of you get what districts you can back.”</p><p>Neon J spoke up from one of the chairs in the room, his voice layered with scepticism. “Can we really just trust a random file though? Seems like the enemy hiding from the inside if you ask me. Lure us into a false pretence of fresh information then BAM!” He shuddered, dropping his voice low. “I’d be careful If I were you.”</p><p>Tila interjected from her place on the couch next to Mayday. Her vision was better in that if someone held up some fingers, she could guess right two out of five times, but in her honest opinion that still wasn’t brilliant. “But what if it is something helpful? We need any information we can get on Estallia. We have to take the risk.”</p><p>Supernova hummed in agreement. “Tila has a point NJ. We’ve managed to retrieve back two districts so far, three if you include Festival Plaza, but just look at how exponential the damage to our team is.” He waved a hand towards Tila and Mayday. “And they’re only going to get harder from here. I say we take every opportunity we can.” The 1010 manager huffed but said nothing in response.</p><p>Remi nodded. “Right then, we might as well get started.”</p><p>But their progress was quickly hindered as the screen started to glitch and bug, fading to a display of grey static like you would find on old T.Vs. The teens groaned in frustration – They just wanted to find out what was in the file, but apparently the tablet had other plans.</p><p>Remi tapped the side of the device and tried turning the power off to restart it, but nothing he did seemed to change the state of the screen. He spun around to glare at Red again. “See, this is why we don’t try to open encrypted files.” Red threw up his arms in anger. “Hey, listen here, all I did was open the thing. It must be your tablet’s fault.” He folded his arms and looked away from Remi, choosing to ignore him. The teen was about to yell at him again, but was stopped when a deep and masculine voice came out of the tablet’s speaker.</p><p>“I do hope I’m not interrupting anything.”</p><p>It was like a weight had been placed on the chests of everyone in the room, all their hearts sinking in horror from the recognition of the speaker. The room promptly gathered around the tablet so they could all see its screen, Mayday and Tila having to resort to staying put. Zuke and Momo had returned just in time, the drummers face a look of confusion before he too joined the fray of people that had collected together. They weren’t sure how this was possible, or what this meant for their safety. Had their hiding place been found? They all prayed not.</p><p>The static screen slowly faded to reveal a somewhat familiar office, except the colour scheme was bluer and greyer from what they remembered. They could see to the right of the display were the windows that showed off the entire city, the faint lights of the buildings gently illuminating the night. And there, sat in the centre of the frame with thick black hair, dark blue eyes and pale blue skin sat the last person the artists wanted to see, a smug, confident look displayed in his smile.</p><p>Luthor Bajingan.</p><p>He chuckled. “How are you all doing?”</p><p>Eve flicked him the bird, an uncommon action for her, but one most welcomed by everyone. Luthor laughed at the action, responding with, “It’s nice to see you’re in good spirits. I’d hate if anything could stop you from seeing past my little game for you- Oh, wait. I suppose ‘seeing’ is a little insensitive now, isn’t it?”</p><p>Remi filled with rage, his face turning red from anger. “Now listen here you piece of-”</p><p>Luthor interrupted him with a laugh. “Now now, I’m only jesting. I do hope Sayu’s beloved singer is doing well in her recovery. I would commend AI for her work, but that would mean I would have to bring her back, and I don’t want to keep faulty trash as part of my corporation.” He snorted. “Keeping her in the recycling bin where she belongs, so to speak.”</p><p>“What do you want, Luthor?” Asked Zuke, his voice stern.</p><p>The head of Estallia almost looked surprised by the question, his eyes wide before going back to his sinisterly jovial self. “Why, I am here to give you some hints because you beat some of my artists, just like I promised. You know, to my plans, other artists.” He paused for a second. “Tatiana’s whereabouts…”</p><p>Their ears pricked up from mention of her name. Eve was practically seething, lunging to grab the device with an intense grip. “Where is she?! Tell me now!” She demanded; her usual composure gone.</p><p>Luthor put his hands up in defence of himself, his words thick with fake hurt. “Well if you want any information, you’re going to have to not want to murder me. Even through my screen can feel how much you want me to stop.”</p><p>Zuke placed a hand on Eve’s shoulder, her head spinning to look at him. It was a simple gesture, but she calmed down, letting out a deep breath before handing to electronic back to Remi so everyone could see. Luthor smiled through the screen. “There, much better.”</p><p>The well-dressed man clasped his hands together in front of him, resting his elbows on the wooden desktop. “So… where do I begin? How about we get the most important thing out the way first?” They watched him reach a hand towards a keyboard and push a button with his finger. In an instant, the screen changed to a view from a security camera, the image a little grainy but still obvious to see. It displayed what appeared to be a white room with a small high up window that was almost at ceiling level. The room appeared to be very sparse and empty, except from a grey and blue bed against one wall, and a door which looked to lead to a small bathroom of sorts. There were some other things darted around the room as well such as books and paper, but nothing as important as the figure in the room who was sat down on the bed with her face resting in her hands:</p><p>Tatiana.</p><p>It was hard to tell through the graininess, but she looked a little worse for wear with bags under her eyes, her clothing ripped, torn and messy on her body, and a distant look in her eyes. It was like Tatiana's body was present, but her mind wasn’t. It made all the artists feel scared. If Luthor could turn Tatiana into such a state, what could he do to them?</p><p>“Tatiana! Tatiana!” cried Eve, her voice breaking. The head of NSR didn’t even turn her head to look at the camera. Luthor tsked over the live footage. “Tsk tsk. She can’t hear you of course. I would have thought as her right-hand women that you would be smart enough to know that Eve.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “Yes, as you can see here, your precious Tatiana is fine and well… for the most part.” The screen changed back to Luthor’s face again, the artists losing their boss once more. “That’s all I’m giving you in the way of Tatiana for now. Keep doing a good job and maybe I’ll be generous enough to give you another hint as to her whereabouts.” He reached off to the side and produced a cup on a saucer that was filled with tea, taking a satisfying sip in front of the group. “Now as to your other little hint…”</p><p>“We don’t care for another hint,” Said Supernova, his voice a growl. “You say you’ll provide us with a hint for Tatiana’s location but merely showed us some footage? How do we know you’re not lying to us? That footage might be faked for all we know.”</p><p>Luthor chuckled, placing his cup back down. “Ah, but you’ll just have to trust that I’m a man of my word, don’t you?” The reply silenced the DJ. It was clear that bringing up the idea allowed uncertainty to squirm its way into their minds. It became apparent that the man wasn’t going to provide anymore information, and they could hardly threaten him for more from their position. They allowed him to continue. </p><p>“As for your other little hint, I’m sure you’ll all be pleased to know that one of you in that very room is a dirty traitor.”</p><p>The sentence hit like a tsunami, sending them spiralling down a stream of fear as they exchanged glances at each other. It didn’t faze Neon J though, instead amusing him. “HAH!” Neon scoffed. “As if we’ll believe that. You mean to tell me that the people we’ve worked with for years are traitors to our cause? That they would side with you? HAH!”</p><p>Luthor chuckled along with him, prior to his smile dropping to become a stern look as he stared directly at the camera. “Do I seem like I’m lying?”</p><p>His words resonated with them all for a while, settling in a pit of dread in their stomachs. It wasn’t like they knew Luthor well or anything, but his demeanour and his mannerisms showed to them that he wasn’t messing with them anymore; He wasn’t lying to them.</p><p>“I’m sure this comes as a surprise to you all,” Luthor said, taking another sip of tea. “But then again, if anyone knew of your own weaknesses and desires, it would be the very team you’ve had the pleasure of knowing for so long.” He turned up his nose from the tea, grabbing a spoon and starting to stir in calm, calculated motions. “Or perhaps in some of your cases not knowing each other is an issue as well, isn’t that right Zuke and Mayday? Terribly sorry about that bruise by the way, I’m sure it must be absolutely draining for you to do deal with; you must be exhausted having to cope with that pain. It was just a jerk reaction from myself at the time, I do apologise.”</p><p>Mayday said some fruitful words in return, earning a scowl from Mother, but making May feel much better.</p><p>Yinu shook her head, her flowers swaying from the motion. “But why would anyone betray us? We’re… we’re a family…”</p><p>“Ah, so true little Yinu.” The man took another sip, this time reacting slightly more pleasantly. “But then again, what reason do any of you have not to betray each other?” He smirked, confidence pouring from him. </p><p>“A fashionista who wishes for the person she cares for most to be safe,”</p><p>“A DJ whose passion is his projects and his exploration of the stars, but can’t always achieve them with NSR,”</p><p>“A group of teens whose persona could be so much more than digital given the right help,”</p><p>“A mother and daughter whose grievances for a lost loved one have inspired a fiery passion to spread their music far and wide,”</p><p>“A manager whose boyband is already international, but could be all that much more realistic given the right resources,”</p><p>“And a small indie band who seek fame and fans - who were rejected at first by the very company they seek to protect.”</p><p>Luthor started chuckling, then slowly burst into laughter, clutching his sides. “You think that given the opportunity to work with a company with more resources, who isn’t failing in supplying power to the masses, that those very people around you won’t take it?” He wiped a tear from his eye. “How precious. Perhaps you should all consider where you alliances truly lie.”</p><p>And with that, the screen changed back to its usual display, Sayu swimming around a little confused as she looked up at her creators and fellow artists; their faces showing that they believed every word from Luthor.</p><p>There was a traitor amongst them.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The song for today's chapter is Vocalio- Just kidding, It's actually the Japanese folk song "Sakura" in reference to the songs Momo wants to learn.</p><p>Reminder that there is a Road to Redemption Discord! People post art and stuff on there, and I give hints as to who the next Estallia artist will be <br/>https://discord.gg/CbpG594</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. The boulevard of reunion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We're almost at 10K hits! Yay!<br/>I don't have much to say, but I should have a Halloween one shot called "Trick or Triplets" coming out on Halloween! It's a Heart Monitor ship fic, so please check it out if you're interested!<br/>Anyway, enjoy the chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was a traitor amongst them. </p><p>The room was silent as the group tried to process what had just happened – what Luthor had just revealed. No one said a word for what felt like minutes, their brains racking as doubt and fear fell upon them. It almost seemed unreal; perhaps it was though. They were taking Luthor for his word, and he was hardly the most reliable person. Yet still… they couldn’t help but land on the same conclusion, that he was telling the truth: that one of them was a traitor. </p><p>But who?</p><p>“Now now,” Supernova broke the silence, stepping away from the huddle. “I’m sure we’re all thinking the same thing. But doubting each other will not get us anywhere. This is probably some sort of plot from Luthor to break us apart and make us question one another.”</p><p>Eve crossed her arms as she turned to look at the DJ with a raised eyebrow. “Forgive me for saying this, but is that not exactly what the traitor would say?” She pointed an accusatory finger in his direction. “Tell me Subatomic Supernova, what we’re you doing when I went up to confront Luthor? Meeting with an Estallia colleague? Sharing details about us behind our backs?”</p><p>Supernova scoffed. “That’s quite ironic coming from you, the person who was the first to meet Luthor. And by yourself no less. How do we know that you didn’t arrange a deal with him whilst you were up there?”</p><p>The fashionista gasped, shocked at the accusation. She pulled forward her coat to show Supernova, the material still ripped and filthy from her fight. “Just look at this! Do you really think that I would ruin such a good piece of clothing to cover up any misdeeds? Absolutely not! Just admit that you’re betraying us so you can work on your silly space adventures!”</p><p>“Guys wait!” Zuke jumped in between them, trying to push back Eve. “Look, Eve isn’t the kind of person to do something like this. I of all people should know.” He said to Supernova. Zuke then looked to Eve. “And DJSS isn’t that kind of person either, even with his ego. We shouldn’t start to doubt each other; that’s what Luthor wants.”</p><p>Neon J snickered as he walked past the group to take a seat. “I’ve fought for years, Zuke. I can tell when a man is betraying his fellow comrades. What is the enemy state giving you, huh? A record label? Money?” He tutted. “Such mockery is what gets you lined up for the firing squad.”</p><p>Zuke facepalmed. “It’s not me. There’s nothing Luthor could give me that I want. I mean, unless it’s Vinyl City back, in which case I’m all for it, but I don’t think he’d be willing to offer up something he’s worked hard for.” He placed a hand on his chin in thought. “Honestly, if it’s any one of us, the only person I could think of would be May.”</p><p>Mayday stuttered on her words from disbelief. “M-me!? Are you being serious right now!?”</p><p>“Look May, you’ve been terrible in most of the fights we’ve had so far, are constantly hindering us, and if there’s any one of us who would want something that Luthor offered, it would be you! The whole reason you wanted to take down NSR was because they wouldn’t give you the opportunity to be famous! You would jump at the opportunity to sign on a record label!”</p><p>“I’ve changed since then! Do you not remember the whole me breaking down into tears in front of the Grand Qwaza!? And while we’re at it, why don’t we question the manager of a global boy band, or the group of teens who see VERY attached to their avatar!? I’m sure having their respective singers in a better situation would be good for them!”</p><p>“HEY!” Team Sayu said in unison, each of them with a frown. Remi was the one speaking for the group. “We love Sayu because she’s proof of our hard work all these years and a symbol of our friendship! We don’t want her to be any more than what she is now, and if we did want to make her real, we’d do it on our own backs, not using some British Villain’s money.” He huffed. “If we wanna accuse anyone of being on the Estallia side, how about the newcomer who I’ve been suspicious of all along. Right, Momo?” The young girl looked to the Remi with confusion, before he continued. “Momo says that she’s looking for her mother, but I’m saying that’s a lie. She’s working for Luthor and you can’t tell me otherwise. Just look at her!”</p><p>The artists did look, Momo still having a puzzled look on her face. She frowned for a moment in thought as she brought her hands up to her face, her eyes looking from one hand to the other, then back again. She quickly became worried as she kept on looking back and forth, until the point where tears started to form, and sobs started to slip from her mouth. As her nose started to run, she whimpered out, “M-Maybe I am the t-traitor!”. She lifted her arm to wipe her eyes as she burst into tears, running from the room towards Zuke’s workshop with a cry of, “I-I’m sorry!” and disappearing downstairs and away from the artists.</p><p>1010 started to sarcastically clap, blue punctuating it with, “Wooooow. Way to go, Remi. Idol personality of the year. I’m sure all the kids love you.” Remi said nothing in retaliation, just sighing and murmuring under his breathe about the whole ordeal.</p><p>Zuke rubbed his temple. “We’re doing exactly what Luthor wants. We can’t start fighting over this.” He folded his arms and addressed the room. “Listen, if one of us is a traitor, we can cross that bridge when we get to it. We can act when the traitor acts and stop them from doing whatever it is they’re doing. For now, we can just focus on getting the districts back. Speaking of which…” Zuke started to walk in the direction of his workshop. “My drumsticks should be finished by now. I can talk to Momo while I’m at it. After that, we can start heading to Natura if that’s okay with you, Yinu. I don’t think we’re going to be getting much rest when a lot of us are paranoid and anxious.”</p><p>Yinu nodded to him, Mother going along with her daughter. “I will go grab my keytar. I have been practising lots so should be of help.” She hurried off into the storeroom, telling Zuke that it was time he headed to get his own instrument too. He left the artists to converse together as he walked to the stairs and made his way down, thinking in his head how he was going to calm a crying girl.</p><p>---------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>“Momo? Are you okay?”</p><p>Zuke had entered his workshop to the sound of soft weeps. Momo was in a corner of the room, sat on the floor crossed legged. He was surprised to see she was holding his new drumsticks in her hands, attempting to draw on them with markers of some kind to decorate them. He could see she was getting frustrated when the colours wouldn’t stay on, the dye rubbing off onto her fingers whenever they touched the doodles. She threw them across the room and towards the workbench, their metallic surface colliding with the bench and falling to the ground. She hid in her arms as she brought her knees close, muffled sobs escaping through fabric.</p><p>The drummer calmly made his way around the table and over to her, kneeling down in front. He let her cry a little more, the tears eventually settling and allowing Zuke to place a gentle hand on her head. At the motion, she came out of hiding with her nose running and her face all puffy. She wiped her nose with her sleeve and pointed a finger to the fallen drumsticks. “I-I wanted to try and make them pretty… but it won’t stay…” She made a big sniffle. “I w-wanted to help… because I d-don’t know if I am helping you or helping the b-bad guys…”</p><p>He looked to the drumsticks, removing his hand from Momo’s head and picking them up. They were covered in pen that was leaking off onto his hands. He thought about how to make it stay on the surface, but even adhesive wouldn’t keep Momo’s drawings on. He had a better idea.</p><p>Momo watched as Zuke stood up and walked to the sink, rinsing the sticks off in warm water before drying them on a hand towel. He then turned to one of the many draws in the room, pulled it out from its holding, and carried it over to Momo with the drumsticks. She had stopped crying at this point, curiosity over sadness. Zuke set the draw down in front of Momo to reveal it was full to the brim with stickers of all kinds, colours and sizes. Her eyes lit up at the sight with all the possibilities running around in her head as she picked them up one after the other to look at them.</p><p>“If you really want to customise them, I suggest using these. Mayday and I use them frequently. You could say they give us more power by just having them on our instruments.” He handed the metal drumsticks to Momo, who took them from him and began sizing up different stickers. She giggled, her voice still a little nasally from crying. “How do you have so many? There must be like ten gazillion in here.”</p><p>Zuke scratched the back of his head. “Well, May and I kinda try to grind up for them. They’re helpful in battle, you know?” He picked one up from the draw. “There’s also a little trick to getting more than one from the vending machines. If you press the button again at just the right time, you get two for the price of one!” He snorted to himself. “Mayday keeps saying that’s what’s intended to happen; that it’s a feature. I still have my doubts.”</p><p>The two of them laughed together, Momo cheering up a little as she started to place some of the stickers on. Zuke messed around in the box for a little while, digging through his collection. “Hey Momo, if you really want to help, you’re welcome to come with me to Natura. Mother might need some back up on the ‘No instrument’ side, and I’m sure Yinu would like someone her age with her. I’ve heard from some of the artists that you were drawing with her whilst we we’re in Akusuka.”</p><p>Momo eagerly nodded her head. “Yeah! Yinu is super-duper nice!” Her face fell as she stared at herself in the reflection of the sticks. “But what if I betray you? What if it turns out I’m some big monster thing that is working for Luthor? Or-or maybe a robot? Or-or maybe I’m hypnotised!” She shook her head aggressively. “I don’t want that to happen! You are nice people helping me find my mama!” </p><p>“Whoa now!” Zuke said, putting his hands up. “You’ve got an overactive imagination, don’t you?” He sighed. “Well, if it turns out you’re a big scary monster or a robot or you’re hypnotised, we’ll stop you and get you back to your normal self. I’m sure your mama wants you back safe. You don’t have to worry.”</p><p>Momo seemed unsure for a moment, but then smiled sweetly at Zuke, handing him back his now sticker-populated drumsticks. “Thank you, Mr Zuke.” He ruffled her hair and got to his feet, helping the girl to get to her own. “No problem, kid.”</p><p>Now his drumsticks were returned, he let the weight of the settle in his hands, before spinning them around his fingers and hitting them on the side of the workbench to test their durability. They felt great and were barely damaged by the contact, something his previous sticks obviously couldn’t handle. He spun them on his hands once more, then put them in his back pockets. He held out a hand to Momo. “Are you coming to Natura with us then?” She grabbed hold of his hand with her own and hummed her alliance with the idea, and the two set off upstairs.</p><p>----------------------------------------------------</p><p>Yinu and Mother were all set up and ready to go when Zuke and Momo arrived back. The room was still tense, most of the artists sticking to different sides of the room so no one was together. They were all talking in their own groups, more than likely discussing who their suspicions lay on. Zuke wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure anything he could say would help. Hopefully once the traitor – if there was one – was found out, things could get back to normal.</p><p>“I’ve got my drumsticks, is everything ready to go?” Zuke asked. The Mother and daughter nodded. Mother’s eyes shifted to Momo, causing her to question, “Is Momo coming with us? Isn’t that a little dangerous? She does not have any powers; I would not want her to get hurt.”</p><p>Yinu frowned. “Mama, I can keep Momo and you safe! I have gotten really good at keytar now, see?” Yinu flicked the switch on the instrument and played a melody, her fingers gliding over the keys. She was definitely better than when she started, but still a little rusty here and there. She lifted her hand from it and her face fell. “Besides, I do not get to play for friends very often… only the people of Natura…”</p><p>Mother seemed unsure, looking to Zuke for an answer. Seeing her worry, Zuke took her to the side and away from the girls, placing a hand on her arm. “I do get what you’re saying, but Momo was really bummed out that she couldn’t help us. I was thinking that if we take her to Natura, she can prove to herself and to us that she isn’t the traitor.” He paused, removing his hand from Mother. “Or… possibly prove she is the traitor.”</p><p>The suggestion made Mother raise an eyebrow. “Do you think she might be?”</p><p>In response, Zuke shrugged, his thoughts uncertain. “She is the only one of us that isn’t related to NSR in some way. I don’t want it to be true, but we won’t know till we find out.”</p><p>The two of them exchanged a glance, before heading back to join Yinu and Momo, who in the small time they were away had started to talk about this fantasy world that they had made up together. At least Momo appeared to be happier now she was around Yinu; a friend to comfort her.</p><p>“Okay then,” Zuke said, clapping his hands to bring the girls back to attention. “Shall we get going?” Momo and Yinu cheered, already rushing to the ladder to ascend to the surface. Their eagerness made Mother laugh: a small piece of positiveness in the stressful atmosphere of the hideout. Zuke heard a laugh from somewhere else as well, looking around to see Mayday smiling at the sight from the couch. However, the moment the two of them locked eyes, her face went stone cold again and she went back to messing on her phone from her immobile position. It frustrated Zuke and made him weary. Sure, he was concerned for her health, but something didn’t sit right with him.</p><p>Mother and Zuke started to walk for the exit too, until they were stopped by Neon J standing in their way. He appeared anxious. “Mother… I know that you have no reason to trust me right now, nor I to trust you, but…” A small blush graced his monitor. “Please make it back safe. I do enjoy working with Yinu every so often, and I would hate for anything bad to happen to her and yourself.”</p><p>The sentiment warmed Mother’s heart, a small smile appearing on her lips as she lifted to cup a hand around his monitor. “Of course, Neon. I will make sure of it.” He smiled softly back, before Mother and Zuke made their way to the exit, the two girls already up top and making a row that could be heard through the manhole cover.</p><p>They weren’t sure what to expect from the artist in Natura, and with Mayday – the main fighter of the B2J – gone, they could only hope that they were strong enough to deal with whoever it was quickly. The artists were already in conflict from Luthor’s announcement, they couldn’t afford to have anything else happen.</p><p>---------------------------</p><p>“Do you like this establishment, Kliff? Myself and my head of training manufactured it. It’s impressive, is it not?”</p><p>Kliff looked around his surroundings, marvelling at the sheer size and the complex decorations that were all around him. When Luthor had offered to take Kliff with him to see Tatiana, he had expected to be taken to somewhere in the NSR tower, not a fully functional… well, this! He was amazed at how calculated and calm the man was; the fact he had this place already in position to imprison Tatiana and take over Vinyl City even before anyone noticed was something that he admired. Sure, Kliff’s plan to take down NSR was planned from the start, but it had nothing on this.</p><p>Kliff was walking side by side with Luthor’s assistant Betty, who was frequently looking at the device in her hands and simultaneously hanging on to Luthor’s every word. Luthor was walking in front of them with a stride in his step and his hands clutched behind his back. He looked like he was in full control, without an ounce of worry in his face. He almost seemed eager to meet with Tatiana, his pace one that Betty and Kliff struggled to keep up with. </p><p>They walked through a large room, the expanse filled with people who were laughing, shouting and drunk out of their minds. To Kliff, the occupants seemed buzzed with excitement, the atmosphere filled with a jovial tone like a party or a celebration. He didn’t have much time to register what the contents of the room were though as he was hurried along towards a gold decorated lift with plants stretching up either side of it. A bell hop in brown and gold uniform saw Luthor approaching and urgently pressed the button to open the doors, saluting the head of Estallia as he passed. The three of them entered the lift and Betty pressed the button to next floor, the doors closing to quieten down the ramble that they walked past. It took only a few moments before the lift dinged to signal they had arrived, and they stepped out onto the next floor.</p><p>This floor seemed to be quieter than the last, but was still filled with noise. The colour scheme was the same, the walls decorated with browns, reds, golds, blacks and greens. The only difference was the layout of this floor which Kliff took note of the moment the door of the lift had opened. It was a collection of circular rooms in a row with a glass corridor leading them through each. The window-like walkway allowed Kliff to see what was happening outside of their passage, something with Luthor and Betty barely batted an eye to.</p><p>The noise on this floor became apparent to Kliff as he watched various artists and musicians fighting robots and each other around him, creating a symphony of music that resonated around the curved walls of the room. It was a wonder to view as the musicians attacked one after another, skilful and steady in the beats and performances. Just when he thought that one room had the last of the artists, he’d cross through a wall to another room where more would be honing and manipulating their powers for action. It was like Estallia had a small army at their disposal; just how long had Luthor been planning this?</p><p>“Ah, my apologies Kliff, allow me to explain what you’re seeing.” Luthor gestured to the outer room. “This is the practice area for our trainees. Fresh artists who want to get into the business, if you will. At Estallia, we believe that using your power to its fullest potential is the best way to really bond with your music, so we offer a training program to anyone who wants to try.” He chuckled, turning to Kliff with a smirk on his face. “Of course, not everyone can become an Estallia artist, so every so often we drop some. Only one of them can become an artist in the end, so things can be a little… competitive.” </p><p>As if on cue, an explosion burst from one corner of the room they were in, a girl and her violin flying out from the after smoke and crashing into the opposite wall. Kliff watched as the girl’s chest rose and fell harshly as she struggled to get to her feet. She was covered in bruises and cuts from head to toe with a particularly painful looking swollen ankle. She stretched an aching hand to the violin that was near her, desperately trying to shift her weight forward to propel herself closer. The action was futile however, as a small group of artists gained ground in her in no time, speeding towards her with charged burst of energy forming for an attack. Kliff looked away from the scene before anything happened, only hearing a scream and an explosion from behind him in the aftermath. A buzzer going off and the cheer from the group in the room only worsened his fears as he tried to bring his attention back to Luthor, ignoring what he had just witnessed.</p><p>Luthor laughed a little, merely continuing on his way with his hands behind his back once again. “We have some hopeful applicants this year.” He said, not an ounce of concern in his voice. “I can’t wait to see what the final exams turn out to be like.”</p><p>Kliff uttered an “Of course” in reply, but was unsettled by the experience. Sure, he had tried to inevitably kill everyone in the NSR tower and have thousands of people lose their jobs, but it was nothing compared to this… this massacre! That girl looked around teen age, yet Luthor was just allowing this to happen? He was a mad man! What on earth pushed him to take music this far?</p><p>His thoughts were disrupted as they arrived at the end of their path, stepping out from the glass corridor into one final circular room. It was different from the rest, more elaborate with a pattern of squares following the curves of the room, leading to three circles of squares decorating their footing. It was illuminated by red, green and black lights that were darted around the ceiling, the lights revealing a figure in the centre of the room sat on a large throne of sorts.</p><p>“Ah, Dar! You are here.” Luthor greeted, his face beaming. “I was almost expecting to find you downstairs mingling with the drunk civilians.” </p><p>Dar clapped his hands in glee as he stood up from his chair. “Luthor, my man! Betty sent me that you wanted to visit our special guest.” He approached Luthor eagerly, taking the man’s hand in his own and shaking. “You gotta tell me when you’re coming, I can’t be prepared for a visit if you finna leave me in the dark.”</p><p>Luthor laughed, pulling Dar into a one-armed hug. “Apologies my friend, I’ve been pretty busy dealing with our little problem in town and our plan. I’m never truly sure when I have free time to go places.”</p><p>They pulled away from the hug and the new artist put his hands on his hips. “This whole business is really frustratin’. I just wanna grab a cold one with you some time.” He shrugged. “But duty calls, I guess.” Dar locked eyes on Kliff and raised an eyebrow, pointing a finger towards him. “Who’s this?”</p><p>Kliff opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Luthor with an introduction instead, “This is Kliff. He’ll be helping us dealing with the NSR artists.” </p><p>Dar looked Kliff up and down, before nodding his head. “Sound. Nice to meet ya, the name’s Dar. I’m in charge of that mess you probably saw as you been walkin’ through. Some other stuff too, but that lot most.” He stuck out his hand for Kliff to take, allowing Kliff to gather what he could about this new artist.</p><p>Dar’s attire was a kind of smart casual look. He wore a light purple button up shirt that was thin enough to reveal some chest scars, with dark purple trousers that were kept up by brown suspenders that went over his shoulders. To compliment the black loafers on his feet, his head was adorned by a purple and black pork pie hat that sat on a collection of dark brown dreadlocks that reached to his shoulders and swung around whenever he moved his head. The colours of his clothes complimented his dark green skin, in total creating an ensemble of fashionable and smart attire that Kliff was a little impressed by.</p><p>Kliff took the offered hand and they shook. Dar quickly turned his attention back to Luthor. “You know, your daughter been here recently. Seen her on the bottom floor.”</p><p>Luthor’s face appeared to drop from the statement as he let out a sigh. “I do hope she wasn’t using my money for whatever she was doing.”</p><p>Dar chuckled. “Why? You scared to give it all to me?” He waved a hand of dismissal at Luthor. “But nah, you good. From what I done saw she was wipin’ the floor with everyone. I should hire her here.”</p><p>The head of Estallia rolled his eyes. “Don’t tempt me.” He smoothed down waist coat and cleared his throat. “Now if you don’t mind, I would like to see our esteemed guest.”</p><p>Dar nodded, pointing with his hand towards a door in the back of the room. “Everything should be aight up there, you’re the guy who regulates it after all. After you, Luthor.”</p><p>Luthor began his confident strides again, Dar following after him with Betty and Kliff behind them. The door led to yet another gold lift, but one that Dar had to produce a key from his pocket to open. Clearly the intention was to keep people out at all costs, and if Luthor’s second in command had the key, that could only mean that Tatiana was on the next floor.</p><p>After another short trip inside a lift, the doors pinged open to reveal the final floor of the establishment which was completely different from the rest. The surroundings were all white, the only sign of colour being from metallic silver bars of the cells and the little glimpse of outside coming in from the small windows in each cell. It was eerily quiet, the kind that makes you uncomfortable and awkward to be in, and the type that would drive you insane if you were in it for too long. Even as they proceeded through the floor, their footsteps never really rang out, just a dull silent thud meeting their ears. Needless to say, Kliff was unsettled by the whole thing, clutching his body with his arms to try to calm his nerves.</p><p>They must have walked past hundreds of cells with each one containing someone that was seemingly absent by the glaze in their eyes and the way their bodies just sat there. It took minutes of uncomfortableness before they reached their destination, Dar pausing in front of it and announcing, “We’re here.”</p><p>Kliff hadn’t seen Tatiana for a while, what with being a sort of enemy and all, but the state she was in made his heart sink. He had never seen her look so bad, even when she was struggling through her final days as Kul Fyra. He had wanted NSR to fall because she had abandoned what she loved, but he had never wanted to harm her, especially to the point she was practically incoherent.</p><p>Luthor walked up to the bars and gave them a knock, the clinking of his knuckles on the metal the only sound that seemed to emerge with clarity. “Tatiana dear, I’ve come for a visit. I do hope you can converse with me.”</p><p>Tatiana took a moment to gather herself, slowly raising her head to look at her visitors. She stared at them for a while, then seemed to come to her senses upon meeting eyes with Luthor. She groaned and brought a hand up to her forehead, rubbing her temple. She shook her head to knock herself back into the world. “Luthor. How nice of you to come see me.” She looked to the side of him to see Kliff stood there with a look of shock on his face. “And Kliff. Why does it not surprise me that you would join them.” She chose to ignore Kliff, turning her attention back to Luthor. She weakly smiled. “I would have thought you would be more preoccupied by my artists taking down your own, Luthor. Or maybe you knew that you would be so easily defeated.”</p><p>Luthor laughed shortly in response. “Why would I not make time to visit the person who enabled me to take Vinyl City from under you? Allowing us into your city for “a chat” was very kind of you. When we offered NSR help, I certainly didn’t expect you to take it so eagerly. Then again, you’ve never much been one for working well in groups; it was inevitable that your company would fall.” He leant against the wall next to Tatiana’s cell, checking out his tie with an air of carelessness. “But anyway, how are you doing? Are you getting fresh water? Can you see the beautiful sunrise from your window? I wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”</p><p>“What do you want, Luthor?” Tatiana asked, ignoring his questions. “You had Vinyl City for yourself. And yet, you offered people the chance to take on your artists? To have a chance for a “better life”?” She pointed a shaky finger at his smug face. “You put your hold on Vinyl City at risk by proposing that challenge, so clearly Vinyl City isn’t your goal. What is it that you plan to achieve?”</p><p>The man brushed off his shoulders and stood up tall in front of the bars. “What do I want, you ask?” He chuckled. “What does it matter what I want? After all, we’ve already begun our plans. We’re about a quarter of the way through, in fact. There isn’t really much your artists can do to stop us now, even if they take back every district.”</p><p>Her face appeared to drop from the statement, fear settling. She stood to meet him at the bars, eyes glaring at him. “Whatever you have planned, we will stop you. My artists are some of the strongest people I know.”</p><p>“I’m sure they are, but so easily susceptible to fear and doubt. I wouldn’t be surprised if they eliminate each other before my artists get a chance to.” He smirked. “Although, if Vedova has anything to say about it, I’m sure there will be corpses in Natura in no time.” He stepped back from the bars, placing his hands behind his back. “I think we’re done here. It was lovely talking with you, Tatiana.”</p><p>He nodded to Dar, who signalled for Betty and Kliff to step back. They watched as Tatiana suddenly gripped her head in pain, forcing her to stumble back to sit on the bed. After a beat, she appeared to become senseless again, her eyes glazing over as her arms fell onto her lap. Luthor smiled.</p><p>“I look forward to the day when I can talk with you once more when I have won.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So for this chapter I was actually listening to Dar's music for most of it, but since I can't reveal that because of spoilers, you get an appropriate Vocaloid song. Sorry, I have lots of Vocaloid songs.<br/>Today's song is "DECO*27 - Psychogram ft Hatsune Miku". The song contains betrayal which I think is relevant for what's happening now.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. vs. Vedova (Part 1)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>10K HITS LETS GOOO<br/>Seriously, thanks everyone. That's awesome.<br/>Just a reminder that there is an RTR Discord! People post art and memes, and talk about their theories for the fic. I even post hints as to who the next artist(s) are! https://discord.gg/c4PysbWhus</p><p>Also, I'll be taking a week break because I really need to study and I feel taking a break will help to get back into writing again. I struggled to write this one. Need to get my mojo back.<br/>Also also, just in case CW:// Body horror? I guess? I'm not sure how to describe it.<br/>Anyway, BATTLE HYPE!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yinu was on the border of tears the very second they saw what had become of Natura. It was like a wasteland; shrunken roots, broken branches, wilted flowers – every plant and shrub that existed in the district was reduced to a shrivelled and destroyed pile of mess. What once was a lush environment that thrived with all kinds of plant life was now reduced to murky brown twigs and leaves. It made Natura unsettling to be in, like the very nature of being there would let the group have the same fate. </p><p>Mother had taken Yinu into her arms in an attempt to comfort her in anyway. She was equally as distraught about the scenario they were in, but she had to stay strong. It was abnormal that their district had died so quickly though; what could have caused this much destruction in such a short time? Perhaps if they reclaimed their district things would go back to normal. Maybe this was something the new artist was doing. She could only hope her assumptions were right.</p><p>Meanwhile, Zuke was walking hand on hand with Momo, who was looking around curiously at her surroundings. She seemed to be uncertain to Zuke, like she was trying to recall something or figure something out. “Hey, is something wrong?” He asked concerned.</p><p>She looked to him at the question, before glancing down to the ground and speaking in a low voice. “I don’t know… something feels off…” She paused in her step and pointed to a park nearby that was filled with benches. “I feel like I’ve been there before, but I don’t quite remember…” She let go of his hand and gripped her head. “Everything feels foggy…”</p><p>Zuke wasn’t really sure what to say, but her words made him think for a moment. If she felt like she had been here before but couldn’t recall, does that mean memory loss? Was someone trying to lose her? He shook himself out of his thoughts and held out his hand for her to take again, saying, “We’ll figure things out eventually, don’t worry. Us artists are usually a good team when we’re not… you know… arguing.”</p><p>Momo perked up quickly from the assurance and took his hand again, the four of them setting off towards the Natura Concert hall where the Estallia artist more than likely was. </p><p>Natura wasn’t really known for having many venues to play at besides the most popular one, and only the elites would ever really get a chance to perform on the stage – Yinu being one of them. Besides Yinu’s performances, Natura was typically known for its theatrical productions, orchestral shows and performance contests of which Yinu was banned from participating in for obvious reasons. It was always seen as a place for the more refined folk, and the music that came out of Natura certainly represented that. </p><p>Thankfully the group didn’t have far to walk to reach the concert hall. Unlike some of the other venues of Vinyl City, it was just a straight road towards the building proceeded by a long yellow pathway and piano-like gates that were sadly now covered with rotten vines of ivory. The concert hall was unique in that the ceiling could be manoeuvred depending on the performance - seen by the lines on the roof - and now was one of those times when it was open for all to hear the performance, the music drifting to them over the chilling and unnerving wind.</p><p>It was a voice that was powerful and smooth, backed by a mixture of woodwind, brass, string, and percussion. The words were melodic and emotional, like the singer was performing deep from the heart in order to show everyone listener how they felt. It was strange, but the group felt it too; a mixture of sadness and anger washing over them. They could tell the singer was hurt.</p><p>They couldn’t stop now though, even with these feelings. The four of them exchanged glances and nods before proceeding towards the concert hall, not knowing what truly awaited them inside, yet preparing for the worst.</p><p>--------------------------------------</p><p>The insides of the concert hall were dimmer and darker than they were used to. It wasn’t a case of they couldn’t see anything, but the only real light was the moon shining down upon them which made it all that much more difficult to see the gold and red hues that decorated the walls and the floor. The one thing they could see clearly though was the singer on stage, seemingly spotlighted by what little light was coming through.</p><p>It was a woman who appeared to be in her late 40’s, small wrinkles framing her eyes and mouth. She was well kept, her black hair tied in a bun with any stray hairs smoothed down to not block her dark grey skin and blood red eyes. She dressed well too, a white undershirt under a Victorian style black dress that reached past her ankles, with a grey corset, ruffled skirt and an extended red rear that made her seem powerful. Her crossed lace black heeled boots added to that fact. Her intimidating aura however was lessened by her face, as running from her eyes were black lines that rolled down and dripped off her cheeks. She was clearly a strong woman, yet her sobs through her voice as she belted out a ballad said otherwise.</p><p>The group could see behind her was an orchestra of sort, shadow beings performing on instruments to back the lady’s singing. She looked to be deep in her performance, unable to see the group. The thing Yinu noticed most of all was her piano that sat in the back centre of the stage with a shadow being performing on it. It was intact at least which was relieving, but it was still in the hands of the enemy. She had to get it back.</p><p>Yinu tried to step away from Mother and walk towards the stage to confront the lady, but was quickly stopped by Zuke who blocked her with a hand. “No.” He whispered, bringing his face close to hers. “They haven’t noticed us yet. We can try to get the element of surprise.” Yinu nodded, then pointed to the left and past the rows of chairs. “We can go around to the backstage.” She suggested.</p><p>However, any plans for surprise were promptly put to rest as Momo ran towards the stage, stopping in her tracks just before it. Her eyes were filled with hope as she looked up to the lady performing, her hands over her chest as she whispered out…</p><p>“Mama…?”</p><p>The performance abruptly stopped, the venue filling with silence as all the shadow being turned to look at the girl standing in front of the stage. The woman slowly craned her neck to look at Momo with her red eyes. Her face was stone cold as she looked disapprovingly at the girl. The lady didn’t seem to register her at all, merely annoyed at the interruption in the performance. The woman quickly snapped her neck up to gaze at the group that was gathered at the entrance. She spoke with a rich accent, each word pronounced in a royal way. “As a classical performer yourself I would have thought you would have the knowledge of performance etiquette.” She said with venom and anger. “If you are only here to disturb the peace, I advise that you leave.”</p><p>Yinu stepped forward and retorted with, “We are not going anywhere until I get my piano and my district back!”</p><p>The lady scoffed. “What do you think you NSR musicians are going to do once you’ve defeated us all? Do you think it is just a case of beating all of us then getting your city back?” She rolled her eyes. “It does not surprise me that you would be so infantile and incompetent. You call yourself artists but have no sense or ability to do that very thing.” She swiped her hand in a shooing motion, indicating towards the entrance of the hall. “Walk along now. I, Vedova, must get back to my opera performance for my dear…”</p><p>Vedova began to choke up, her body tensing as her eyes filled with tears. She couldn’t seem to finish her sentence. Her lips were quivering and her body was shaking. The black lines on her face began to drip more frequently, the drips lading and fading into her dress. They watched as Vedova took a deep breathe in, then out, composing herself and stabilising her body. “Deep breathes, Vedova…” She whispered to herself.</p><p>Momo on the other hand was anything but composed as she tried to run to get onto the stage, running with her arms out and crying, “Mama! I’m here!” Before she could reach the stage however, a string of white stretched down from the ceiling and stuck to Momo’s back. In an instant, the girl was sent flying up to the ceiling with a scream of “AHHHHHH!”, and disappeared into the dark, her screams fading as she vanished out of sight. </p><p>“Momo!” Yinu cried, reaching a hand out in desperation. Her eyes were wide with fear as she struggled to get any more words out. She hadn’t known Momo for long, but the two of them had bonded. They were two young girls who were stuck in this whole mess. To lose a friend she had only just really met made her anger grow as she clenched her fists in frustration. </p><p>Things only became worse though, as Yinu heard a cry from behind her. Her and Zuke turned around to see Mother with the same kind of white string attached to her arm, their hearts sinking upon realisation. The two of them rushed forward to try to grab her in time, but before they knew it, she was racing towards the darkness above them, her final shout of “Yinu!” settling in the head of the pianist.   </p><p>Vedova brushed down her dress, calm like nothing had just happened. “Now everything is quiet, I can perform again.” Sensing the moment, the shadow beings started to play, a classical piece filling the walls of the venue. It was punctured through by Yinu though, who was gripping her keytar with anger. “You take my district, my piano, my friend, and now my Mama… I will not let you take any more!”</p><p>The singer huffed in frustration, clearly agitated that they hadn’t left yet. “So be it then, mad maestro.”</p><p>Vedova closed her eyes and started to sing. Her voice was daunting and strong as her vocal cords sang out each word, her body stoic and in the moment. It was clear she was feeling every letter of the song, but her absorbedness in the music only meant the NSR artists had a chance to strike, Zuke pulling his new drumsticks out of his pockets and Yinu aligning her fingers on the keytar. They began to march forwards, aim directed towards Vedova. They were about a third of the way along the centre carpet and started preparing for an attack, only for Yinu to seemingly fall through the floor, screaming out in shock. </p><p>Zuke spun on his heels. He had to react fast. He fell to his knees and stretched an arm out for Yinu to grab, his hand grabbing the very edge of his drumstick so there was more for Yinu to take hold of. Yinu flailed her arms in an attempt to grab hold, thankfully managing to grip the tip of the stick and holding on for dear life. With a heavy tug from Zuke, he brought the pianist to safety, the two of them panting from the sudden danger. </p><p>They looked back to see the pit Yinu had fallen into. At the very bottom lay large glass shards that would impale anyone that had the misfortune of falling on them. By the shredded pieces of carpet that lay around the shards, it was clear it was deliberately hidden; a secret attack from Vedova more than likely. The two artists looked to the path between them and Vedova. There was bound to be more. They had to be careful.</p><p>They quickly but carefully launched their assault again, but were met with more traps in their way with pits filled some sticky substance that Zuke had to pry his shoes off, and random fragments of glass shooting up from the ground like claws and narrowly missing Yinu’s head. The floor was a death trap with every step they took, and they weren’t sure it was possible to even reach the singer.</p><p>“We cannot keep risking our lives.” Said Yinu, her heart racing from the near-death experiences. “We need a way to get to her.”</p><p>Zuke rubbed his chin in thought. The traps were seemingly invisible to them, and getting to her slow and steady would take too long considering they had no idea what was happening to Mother and Momo. If only there was a way to set them all off at once…</p><p>Zuke turned to Yinu. “How much has Mayday taught you?” </p><p>The pianist pondered for a moment, then responded with, “Umm, a fair amount, I guess?”</p><p>That might be good enough, thought Zuke. He elaborated for her. “Do you remember how when we fought, Mayday used her guitar to change all the transformables in the hall at once?” He looked out to the distance they still had to cover. “I think if we do something similar, we’ll set off all the traps here. We’ll have a clear path then.”</p><p>Yinu was taken back. “I-I- I am not sure I can do that! I have only been practicing keytar for so long!” She was getting hectic and panicked, her eyes darting around.</p><p>Zuke smiled as he knelt down and placed a hand on her head. “But you’ve been a musician for years. If anyone can figure out how to channel that piano energy into a keytar, it’s the golden maestro of Vinyl City. You’ve got this.” </p><p>The words were encouraging, but Yinu was doubting herself. The skill Zuke was talking about was one that worked with a guitar. She had only had a guitar-like thing for a couple of weeks! Mayday was an enthusiastic teacher, but never really taught her about how to use the keytar. Sure, she was a master of the piano, but that didn’t mean she could do something like that… right? </p><p>But then she thought of what was at stake. Above her trapped somewhere was her Mother and her new friend. Estallia was in control of Vinyl City still and Vedova had her piano. Her Father’s piano. It made her think back to when she first started out, how her Father would always push her to try another chord, another melody, another song. She would never back down from those challenges, and she wasn’t going to stop now.</p><p>Yinu took her Keytar into her hands, gripping the neck of it with all her strength. She took a breath in, then out, then closed her eyes to channel her power; just like her father had taught her to do. In her relaxed state, she thought of everything that she needed to protect, everything that she needed to get away from Vedova and Estallia. But most of all, she thought of Mother and Momo, taken away from her in the blink of an eye and possibly in more danger than she was now. She felt the power start to flow through her and into her hands. It got to a point where it felt like an explosion in her fingertips, telling her it was the right moment. She could do this.</p><p>Yinu brought the keytar up over her head. With a shout of pent up power, she jumped into the air with grace, then swung her arms straight down towards her feet, the weight of the keytar shifting easily in her hands. The moment the side of the instrument hit the floor, a burst of gold light with intertwining vines exploded out from under her, accompanied by the sound of a piano glissando smoothly drifting through the venue. The ripples reached to the far corners of the hall, making the orchestra on stage stop playing. </p><p>The ground shook under them. Vedova stopped singing and opened her eyes to glance at the spectacle Yinu was making. In an instant, every trap, pitfall and snare was triggered in the arena; glass appearing out the ground, carpet falling down the pits, and the sticky substance crystalising over and shattering into millions of pieces.</p><p>Yinu peaked with one eye to see what had happened, becoming aghast when she saw that she had done what she set out to do. “D-Did I do that?”</p><p>“Yeah, you did!” Zuke cheered. He met eyes with Yinu, who had a beaming smile on her face. They had a clear shot now, and they weren’t going to let it go to waste. With the duo readying their instruments, they charged towards Vedova, side stepping the traps that were meant to hinder and stop them from their fight.</p><p>Vedova snarled. As Yinu and Zuke got closer, she started to step backwards towards the walls of the stage, stepping through the shadow orchestra who had begun to play again. Just as Zuke made his drums materialise to send a blast towards the singer, they artists watched as Vedova lifted her foot to place it on the wall, and then the other foot. They had to do a double take as Vedova easily sauntered away from them and up the wall of the stage, her dress drooping across her legs and towards the ground from the gravity. </p><p>“Did you assume that I would get hit so easily?” She mocked from her horizontal position. The two of them saw Vedova slam her fist against the wall, causing those white strings to wrap around the Yinu’s piano in a dome-like shape, and stopping them from getting to it. Yinu ran up to it and tried to grab hold of the stings to tear them off, but it was no use. She retracted back in defeat, her hands strangely sticky from the contact. Vedova was amused by the action. “I doubt you will be able to get through that.” She said smugly. “Not many people can break my string, most of all the people trapped in it.” She turned her back on the artists and made her way further up the wall. “Now, if you do not mind, I shall be performing in the safety of my elevated position.”</p><p>Yinu looked up at her in anger, lining her fingers along the keys of her keytar. “You are not safe when we are here!” She cried. Yinu started to play over the orchestra, the synthetic melody of the instrument managing to overshadow the ensemble. Similar to when she would play her piano, the notes shot like bullets in the direction of Vedova. The singer barely reacted quick enough to dodge them, swaying and hopping delicately to avoid getting hit. Even when Yinu played complex sequences, Vedova managed to avoid them with grace and poise. Yinu groaned. “She won’t stay still!”</p><p>Zuke saw. She needed some support, and he could offer just that. He raised his drumsticks high over his head, allowing the drums to appear in front of him. When they had materialized, he turned to Yinu and ordered, “On my lead, okay?” to which the pianist stopped playing and gave him an assured nod, readying herself.</p><p>The drummer tapped his drumsticks together, counting the beats out loud for Yinu to hear. He tapped once. Twice. Three times. And then four, at which the two played together in sync, a glissando backed by a drum beat that melted together to form a burst of green and gold musical energy the size of Yinu. It darted right at Vedova, who shrugged and hopped to the other side of room to avoid it. But just as she fled, the power homed in on her, causing her to panic. The energy caught up with her, knocking her off her high footing and sending her falling down to the ground. Her plummet was stopped short though as the same white strings shot down from the ceiling to grab her, suspending the singer in mid-air above the duo.</p><p>The orchestra cut off as they watched Vedova sway in the air. She appeared to be immobile with her head down on her chest and lose pieces of hair drifting with the motion of her body. Yinu and Zuke didn’t faulter here, Zuke raising his sticks to count another four beats. Once. Twice. Three- </p><p>Vedova let out an explosive boom of song that knocked Zuke and Yinu off their feet and stopped them from continuing further. Once the note was done, Vedova panted from exhaustion. “I cannot let you defeat me… I am doing this for Estallia… For Rocco…” She began to sob, black drips falling down and onto the floor. “My dear Rocco who I let slip through my grasp…” </p><p>The ground started to shake as Vedova began to pull on the white strings. The two artists struggled to stay stable, Yinu running over to Zuke to grab his body for support. It came as a surprise to them when the floor started to fall away fast, crumble into an abyss below them. They urgently ran off the stage and towards the entrance of the venue, but it was little use as the ground gave way at their feet, sending them tumbling downwards. </p><p>They were fortunate enough to land on some kind of footing that was unstable and wobbly, but any ground was helpful. Yinu glanced around to what had saved them from falling as she unsteadily got up. It was a small white circle with an intricate design that felt like silk, held up by something she couldn’t see underneath. The material was loose in its holding though and almost bouncy like. It felt like she was on a trampoline in a way. There were more darted around the venue too she saw as she looked around to what had become of her concert hall, an abyss between each trampoline that didn’t look very friendly. </p><p>Zuke groaned as he got to his feet, rubbing his head and feeling the dried blood in his hair. Oh yeah, he had forgotten about that. He probably should have gotten that checked before they left, but he was here now, steadying his balance on a small white silky platform. It was strange, but when he looked at what the two of them were standing on, he could swear he had seen that pattern before. He couldn’t think about that now though, looking towards Vedova who had stopped pulling on the strings and was staring directly at them.</p><p>“This fighting is not what Rocco wants.” Vedova declared through tears. “Why must you try to stop my performance? Why must you try to silence my voice that sings for him?” After her words, more white strings attached to her, allowing her arms to move more freely. Vedova moved her fingers around in her hands, producing the same white string from her fingertips and shifting it into a ball. “I cannot allow you to do any more harm.”</p><p>Vedova hurled the ball of white at Yinu and Zuke. They managed to duck out of the way of the first one, the ball skimming their heads, but with nowhere to go and the nearest other platform a fair way away, She was going to hit them eventually. They had to start moving somehow.</p><p>“Any ideas?” Zuke asked Yinu. The pianist glanced around again, taking a step forward so she could see closer to what else was in the room that they could use. In doing so however, she lost her balance on the silky loose material beneath her, causing her to trip up. She was lucky Zuke was there to catch her before she fell. She thanked him for the save, then a light bulb went off in her head as she looked to their platform. She had said before that it felt like a trampoline… Maybe they could…</p><p>Yinu grabbed Zuke’s hand, surprising the drummer, but addressing her action by insisting, “We need to jump in sync!”. She glanced to the nearest platform from them; maybe two pianos of a distance. They couldn’t make it by jumping normally, but they weren’t going to jump normally. They had to try. “If we jump at the same time twice, we might have enough momentum to get over there.” </p><p>Zuke gave her a questionable look, clearly uncertain with the idea and the risks as part of it, but they were out of options, and Vedova was already making more balls in her hands. “Okay, Yinu. You take the lead.”</p><p>The pianist set her sights on the next trampoline platform. She squeezed Zuke’s hand in nervousness, steeling herself for the action. She started to count down. </p><p>3</p><p>2</p><p>1</p><p>Now!</p><p>The duo jumped, finding the platform to be just as trampoline like as Yinu assumed as they went far higher into the air then they normally would. They landed back down on the trampoline, the weight of their bodies pushing the white silk down further than before. Sensing the burst of height they were going to get, Yinu and Zuke readied themselves for the inevitable lift off. As the tension lessened on their ground, the artists were sent soaring through the air, Zuke’s arms flailing around in panic. They eventually fell down onto their destination with the new trampoline catching all the momentum from the last and sending the duo up into the air the second they touched it. They took the opportunity they had with this continued height and headed to the next one, and the next one and the next one; slowly bounding their way towards Vedova’s position in the room.</p><p>Meanwhile, Vedova was continuously making attacks to throw at the Yinu and Zuke. They were fast and in quick succession, but with the constant movement from the two of them she had no time to aim her shots properly, meaning many fell short or were barely fortunate enough to at least skim their heads. She became erratic as they neared her, the balls becoming messier and less aerodynamic than the ones before to the point where she was just propelling the white string at them. Luck landed on her side though as they reached the penultimate trampoline, her string manging to hit Zuke on his foot. While it didn’t do damage, she watched as the drummer tried to move again, only to be glued securely down to the platform, unable to move his leg.</p><p>Zuke pulled and pulled to try to pry his leg out, but it was no use. He wasn’t going anywhere. Yinu had already jumped ahead of him to the final trampoline. She glanced back to him in worry, only for Zuke to shout, “Don’t worry about me! Whack her around the head! Get your district back!” He saw her smile before her attention went back to Vedova as she hit the final platform. </p><p>Yinu’s feet met with the silk. She readjusted her grip on her keytar, fingers clutched tightly around the neck, arms buzzing with power and adrenaline. All at once, Yinu propelled herself to meet with the hanging Vedova and swung her instrument to collide with the singer. Vedova had a look of fear on her face as she felt the blow, crying out in pain. It made the strings holding her up snap like twigs, and as a result, the ground of the venue became whole again, the building restored. Zuke felt the string around him crack and crumble. It seemed her control over the area had gone.</p><p>The two girls tumbled to the floor; Yinu landing on her feet and Vedova landing in a pile, rolling to a stop with her messed up hair dripped over her face. The two of them were panting heavily, exhausted from the fight. Yinu mustered up the strength to point the end of her Keytar at Vedova, demanding with a steeled voice, “Give me back my district. Give me back my Mama and my friend.”</p><p>Vedova sobbed. </p><p>She looked up to Yinu, the black streaks down her face dripping faster and faster with what Yinu saw now as tears. She looked like a distraught woman, completely different from what they witnessed as they arrived. Vedova shakily got to her feet, all the while crying her eyes out and insisting,</p><p>“I’m so sorry, Rocco… I’m so sorry…”</p><p>Zuke came to meet Yinu who had taken a step back from the singer in fear. He raised an eyebrow to Vedova. “Who is Rocco?”</p><p>Vedova screamed. “Don’t say his name!” She bought her hands up to her face as she unsteadily tumbled backwards. “I have no choice… I must keep this district…” She sighed, composing herself with her hands gripped tightly around either side of her head. “I’m so sorry, my love…”</p><p>An almighty crack erupted out as Vedova snapped her neck, twisting her head to become upside down and hanging loosely on her body. Her clothes began to expand and rip as her body grew, her skin fading to the same black colour as her hair. Her arms extended in length to become long and thin as more burst through her sides. After what felt like a horrific lifetime to Yinu and Zuke, Vedova had finished, her form standing tall and uncomfortably large over the two artists who felt like flies compared to her now. </p><p>Yinu screamed, clutching hold of Zuke from fear. The white string made sense now. And those patterns Zuke thought he had seen before? He had - Many times. </p><p>Standing before them, as tall as the lights of the stage, with eight thin black legs, and a red stripe decorating the back of her form, was Vedova.</p><p>Vedova the Black Widow.</p><p>Vedova sobbed, her voice coming out as warped and deeper than before.</p><p>“I think it’s feeding time now, don’t you?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Vedova's music is Opera! I researched specific songs that relate to her story:<br/>- Geminiano Giacomelli - Sposa Son Disprezzata<br/>- Vincenzo Bellini - Oh, quante Volte<br/>- Gaetano Donizetti - Amore e Morte<br/>I tried to find the original composers for all these. If you know any different please let me know.<br/>I didn't actually listen to these while writing like I usually do for writing artist chapters. Instead I actually listened to "Yuri on Ice" by Andy Katsuki. Disregarding the anime part (Although the anime is good too), it's an amazing piano piece.</p><p>Thank you for reading and see you all in two weeks!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. vs. Vedova (Part 2)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We're back! (yay!)<br/>I'm somehow more exhausted! (Yay?) I had a bad week this week.<br/>Random me thanking you readers yet again because I've started a writing portfolio so I can actually get hired into the line of job I want. I sadly can't use fanfiction as part of it, so if you have any non-fandom related pieces of writing that I could do, please let me know! I currently only have 1 piece in my creative writing part.<br/>But yeah, this chapter is around 7000 words long, so please enjoy!<br/>BATTLE HYPE!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Now, Yinu had never really been afraid of spiders - she actually loved them. Whenever her and her parents would visit the gardens of Natura, she would always marvel at the glistening spider webs that littered the many roses and shrubs of the establishment. They always seemed like cute creatures to her that resembled herself; the way they worked tirelessly to perfect their craft and form a beautiful picture that all could enjoy. However, this spider in front of her right now was anything but cute. In fact, the very sight of it made her hairs stand on end and her body stiff. This wasn’t just any spider.</p><p>This was a spider that was much bigger than them, and far hungrier than Yinu would have liked.</p><p>“Yinu, we need to move! Now!” Zuke cried, snapping the pianist out of her terrified state. The two of them ran towards the far back row of seats, Yinu gripping Zuke’s clothes tightly. She didn’t dare look behind her, the sound of harsh, rapid thuds ever close and gaining on them, sending Yinu into further fits of terror. As Vedova was mere inches near them, Zuke dived between the back rows of seating, taking Yinu with him to the floor just as Vedova went to stab a needle-like leg where they just were. The Widow groaned in annoyance, before trying to position herself on the chairs so she could attack them again. It was futile however as she was too large to reach a stable pose that which she could take another shot. Vedova growled. The two of them were safe for the moment, but it was only a matter of time before they would be in danger again. They had to come up with a plan.</p><p>Zuke ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a breath of momentary relief. “Right, what do you normally use to take down a spider? Maybe we can think of something that way.”</p><p>“Umm..” Yinu pondered. “A Newspaper? A shoe?” She flatlined her lips, uncertain. “I do not know where we can find any of those big enough to take down Vedova though.”</p><p>The drummer sighed in frustration. “We could always just attack her,” He glanced up at the widow, long thin arms shuffling around. “But I wouldn’t want to get to close to her with those things. If we had some way to get bullets that would help.” He looked back to Yinu. “Do you think you could do your glissando attack again?”</p><p>The pianist shook her head. “That transformation skill along with the power attack we did together really made me tired. I am not sure I can do it again.” Yinu looked to stare at the outer ceiling of the venue, a frown of worry appearing on her face. “I hope Mama and Momo are okay…” She felt a hand on her shoulder, glancing to see Zuke with a soft smile. “They’re strong,” He reassured. “I’m sure they’re okay. We can get them back once we deal with spider lady here. Worrying is only going to make it worse.” She felt better from his words, but the thought still stung her.</p><p>Vedova cried out in anger as her feet kept failing to get her in position. “You little worms!” Her voice was warped and distorted. “If I can’t get you out like this, I’ll make my own world to capture you in!” As the words were said, the widow propelled herself into the air with her web, leaving her dangling in the air. They duo watched as Vedova sewed her web together with ease, before chucking it around the room, covering every corner in the white string. Ladders upon ladders of spider web were woven around them, even decorating the floor like a carpet, draping over their heads between the chairs. Vedova looked to the two of them and smirked, then shot layers of web over the open roof, slowly and intricately plunging the venue into darkness. As their ease of vision faded, they heard a whisper from Vedova. </p><p>“You cannot hit what you cannot see.”</p><p>Yinu moved to grip hold of Zuke for comfort, the drummer in question pulling her close. They thought they just had to deal with her in combat, but now they were under rows of web in a darkened room and a spider that just so happened to thrive in the dark. She had a major advantage over them now, and as much as they didn’t want to admit it, they couldn’t stay under the chairs forever. They had to move.</p><p>Their eyes adjusted to what they could, the artists only just being able to make out each other. Yinu watched Zuke bring his finger to his lips, to which she nodded in understanding, mimicking the gesture. Zuke then carefully brought himself to his feet and delicately gripped a hold of the thick and sticky spider web above him. With caution, he lifted himself onto it, placing each foot apart on different strings. After ensuring he was balanced, he knelt down to offer a hand to Yinu. The pianist took it and, using the chairs for leverage, managed to securely get onto the web. It was as thick as she was wide, so she could easily stand on one without issue. Once both were stable, Zuke signalled to her and pointed his finger upwards, before motioning a climbing gesture with his hands. Yinu seemed uncertain by the idea, but gave him a thumbs up anyway, and the two of them set off along the strings and towards where the web ascended to the ceiling.</p><p>The walk between their spot and the wall climbing string seemed so much further than they thought, but they reached it eventually. With another exchanged nod, Zuke picked Yinu up and place her on the wall. She was a small child, but thankfully able to just barely reach each strand to climb herself up. Zuke joined her not long after, following right behind Yinu so he could catch her if she fell. It seemed unlikely to happen since the web was sticky, but he didn’t want to take that chance.</p><p>They could hear Vedova hissing and scuttling around the web as they climbed. It seemed she too didn’t have the best vision in the dark, but they could imagine if they made so much of a whisper or shook the web to much, she would be on them in seconds. It was terrifying for the both of them - the fact they couldn’t see her made it that much more horrifying. They could only hope that didn’t happen, taking caution at every turn to be steady and calm with their climbing. </p><p>They had made it about half of the way up now. They were going at a good pace, but it was tiring work, Yinu beginning to pant a little. She tried to keep her breathes steady and quiet, and it was very difficult, but her determination helped her to do so. It became harder though as they felt the web begin to shake a little as the sound of scuttling became louder, signalling Vedova was near. Yinu looked down to Zuke in panic, eyes wide in questioning what they should do. If Vedova was making her way around the web, she would be on them in a matter of seconds. Even if she couldn’t really see them, her many legs were sure to hit them, and they dreaded to think of what getting stabbed with one of those pin legs felt like. </p><p>Zuke glanced around for a solution, before looking at the web itself. It wasn’t much, but there was some space on the other side to where they were. They would be wedged between the wall and the spider’s silk, but they wouldn’t be on this side at least. Seeing it as the only option, Zuke placed a leg through one of the gaps in the weave, ducking under and through it to the other side. Yinu took note and followed suite, finding the movement much easier because of her size. It was in the nick of time, as mere seconds later Vedova passed over them, large black abdomen covering their line of vision. They could hear her growling in annoyance, saying with distorted breaths, “If you so much as move wrong, I’ll paralyse you and rip your flesh from your body slowly and painfully.” The terror dripping from her words made Yinu panic more, a tear rolling down her cheek from fear. They were lucky she was only there for a moment, making her way back around the web and out of their sight once again.</p><p>With a mental sigh of relief, Zuke and Yinu started to climb back through to the inside of the web. It was a shame that they couldn’t climb on arguably the safer side because of how cramped it was, but at least it provided a moment of solitude for them. Zuke dipped under a string, wrapping his arms around another, and pulled himself through to the other side, gripping the web tightly and motioning for Yinu to do the same. Zuke could see that she was shaken, her body trembling and her swallows hard, but she nodded and collected herself together, placing one foot after another to the inner part of the web to continue their incline. </p><p>And then her jacket got caught on the web.</p><p>For Yinu, it felt like the world around her had stopped – her heart had at least. If she wasn’t already panicking before, she was having a meltdown now, her brain running through the thousands of inevitable options Vedova was going to do to them. She turned to look at Zuke with wide, fearful eyes, gesturing with her head down at the place her clothes were caught on. The drummer’s face dropped. They knew the moment they pulled Yinu free, the movement would ripple through the entire web, telling the widow exactly where they were, but they hardly had any other options, and Zuke wasn’t going to just leave Yinu behind. They needed to think of a solution; some way that Yinu could get free and Vedova couldn’t find them. </p><p>And that’s when it hit Zuke. There were two of them, and only of Vedova. She couldn’t stop them both at once.</p><p>Zuke looked down to the black abyss below him, then glanced back to Yinu. It was a risky idea for sure, but considering all other options he could think of would give away their position, this was the best one. He met eyes with Yinu, and with her attention drawn on him, he mouthed the words, “On three…” Yinu became shocked, shaking her head in disbelief at the idea of just letting the action of pulling her jacket happen. She mouthed back the words, “No! She’ll know where we are!” but Zuke’s face steeled at the response, his features becoming serious. In reply, he mouthed “Trust me…” to which Yinu faltered in her thoughts. She did trust him, especially after everything they had already been through in this battle, but with no idea of what he had planned, it made the idea of potentially sacrificing her safety that much more distressing. After a beat, she mouthed back, “Okay” with doubtfulness. He smiled at her, before lifting three fingers. Yinu gripped the edge of her jacket in preparation.</p><p>He dropped one finger.</p><p>Then two.</p><p>And then the third, after which Yinu started to pull on her jacket, the motion doing exactly what they predicted and shaking the web; a wave rippling through the foundations. They heard Vedova hiss in delight from somewhere in the dark, making Yinu pull harder in an attempt to get herself unstuck quicker. She looked to Zuke, waiting for him to do what he planned. As if knowing what she was thinking, Zuke gave her a thumbs up and a nod. He glanced down once again at the abyss, before taking a deep breathe in, then pushing himself off the web, his body falling till Yinu could no longer see him.</p><p>After a moment of nothingness, a humongous shockwave cascaded through the entire web, the whole structure shaking from heavy movement. She heard Vedova laugh in triumph, followed by the sound of rapid scuttling that went from the opposite side of the room and down to the ground where Zuke had fallen. Yinu’s movements felt like nothing now compared to this, giving Yinu the perfect cover to escape from her sticky capture. She pulled and pulled with all her might at the jacket, eventually pulling it free. Now she could move again, Yinu stared down into the dark where she had seen Zuke had fallen. She was grateful for the cover, but was filled with untold amounts of worry if he was okay. She shook herself out of the thought – Of course he was okay, she told herself. She turned her attention back to the web, beginning her ascension to the ceiling once again. </p><p>------------------------------------------------</p><p>Spiders were much scarier when they were hunting you, Zuke found out. When he had come up with the idea of letting all his weight fall into the bottom of the web to district Vedova, he had only really thought about the matter at hand, and not everything after that he would need to do to get to safety. Still, at least Yinu was safe and hopefully climbing up the web as of now. </p><p>The moment Zuke had landed, Vedova was on him in an instant. He was fortunate enough to get moving quick enough to jump through the holes in the web to escape her, but she was very much alert now and stabbing her legs through the web in his direction. He needed to keep distracting her to allow Yinu to reach the top with ease, but that meant he had to get back inside the web, so he needed a way to escape her each time she approached him. </p><p>Vedova stabbed a leg mere inches away from Zuke’s body, crying out in frustration with, “You insolent young man! I should do to you what my venom did to that pathetic husband!”. She dragged her legs across the ground, tearing up the floor and forcing Zuke to crawl away. His shuffling only drew her attention though, another leg stabbing where he was just about to be. He was practically cornered on the floor; the only thing he could do was go up again. But how was he going to escape her quick enough? And so consistently as well?</p><p>Zuke moved so he was directly under neath her, and steadily climbed onto the web, making sure to stay low. He watched as Vedova stabbed a few times more at the ground, becoming more irritated as she never hit her target. “Where are you?! Show yourself, bug!” She screamed. The widow moved around and off where Zuke was, giving Zuke the chance to move away from her. She was so close to him however that even the slightest of movements alerted her, Vedova instantly spinning around to face him and going for a strike. He managed to duck under her swinging leg, but if he didn’t think of anything quick enough, she was going to hit him eventually.</p><p>He began to run across of the web, stumbling here and there from the swaying strings. Vedova hurried after him; even with his slight lead, she was gaining ground. He could always climb up the side, but she was sure to catch up then. And while hiding on the outer side was an option, he wasn’t sure he had time to get through. Besides, he would put Yinu in her focus then which he didn’t want to do. Zuke glanced down at his feet. Everything under him was spider web. The walls were too. He was in a cocoon of white string… He had an idea.</p><p>Just before Zuke had reached the ascending web, he jumped up and down on the spot, letting his body weight weigh him down with each fall, building up momentum. He was pleasantly surprised by how quickly he was gaining height, and in a matter of seconds, he had already reached about the height of a quarter of the spider web. It was just in time too as the widow charged forward with her jaws wide, ready to rip Zuke to shreds. With one final Jump, Zuke propelled himself up and onto the wall, Vedova’s jaws just missing his feet. His landing sent another ripple of motion, but that was okay. He wanted to keep her occupied. </p><p>Vedova sped for another attack on him. In response, Zuke pushed off from the web and dove past Vedova to landing squarely in the centre on the carpeted string. The force caused him to bounce up into the air once more, which he used to grab a hold of the adjacent wall to the one he was just on. This was his plan: Keep moving between surface to keep Vedova’s attention, making sure to not get caught in the process. It was albeit a tedious and repetitive one, but it worked, and that was all that mattered. He could only hope that Yinu was almost at the top. If only he had given her some ideas as to what to do when she was there.</p><p>---------------------------------------------</p><p>Yinu was several levels of exhausted. Her arms and legs ached from the climb to the point where all she wanted to do right now was let go and fall. But she couldn’t – she knew that. She was almost at the top of the web now; only a few paces to go. As she approached, she prayed for Zuke to be okay. She could imagine dodging a huge black widow was not an enjoyable or easy thing to do. Still, she was very thankful for him doing so. Perhaps she could finally end all of this.</p><p>She breathed a sigh of relief as she reached the top. Zuke had been the one to suggest climbing, so clearly there was something of use up her to her, Yinu thought as she observed her surroundings. It was hard to see anything in the dim light, but faintly she could make out something in the very centre upper part of the web. She shuffled towards it, gravity desperately trying to pull her down, but she got as close as she could until she could make out what it was.</p><p>It looked to be a singular thick piece of string linking the entire web to the ceiling. It was the load baring thread for the whole structure. Bingo.</p><p>She began to climb closer, until she paused. She could hear something. It was faint, but there were strange sounds coming from her left, almost like a low hum of some kind. Could it be another trap? Yinu thought. She looked to the load baring thread, knowing she should really be going towards it, but curiosity got the better of her and she turned around and headed in the direction of the sounds.</p><p>The shaking web from Zuke’s teasing down below made it a little difficult to make her way over, but the sounds gradually got louder, and louder, and louder, until some objects came into her vision from within the darkness. There, wrapped tightly in web with eyes wide and one of them gagged, were Mama and Momo. Mama was screaming muffled screams, a look a worry on her face, while Momo had managed to bite through her own gag and was busy trying to bite open the spider web around her body.</p><p>“Mama! Momo!” Yinu cried in delight at the sight of them. It was only after the words had left her mouth that she had realised her mistake, looking down into the darkness in horror.</p><p>---------------------------------------</p><p>“Mama! Momo!”</p><p>Zuke’s heart felt like it had stopped the moment Yinu’s voice rang out over the room. He had been keeping a rough position on Vedova for the past couple of minutes, but he didn’t need to see her face to know that she was grinning with elation. He began to hear scuttling, starting from the floor and heading up the wall of web. Vedova’s voice followed. “Here my little snack! I’ll finish you off before I paralyse the bigger one.” She laughed. “Don’t worry… It won’t hurt for long.” </p><p>In an instant, Zuke set off to make it to Yinu before Vedova, hauling himself up the webbed ladders as fast as he could. He had to intervene between the two somehow otherwise Vedova was going to be merciless against the young girl. He climbed up as fast as his body would fully let him, using what little momentum he could to bounce up the wall, but when you’re up against someone whose natural habit is a web, your efforts might as well be useless.</p><p>--------------------------------------------</p><p>Yinu glanced around in panic, urgency clawing at her mind. How could she have been so stupid? She was so excited to see the two of them okay that she gave away her position. And now she was essentially trapped. What could she do to save herself? Could she do anything at all? </p><p>The load baring thread. She had to break it.</p><p>She swung her way back to the centre, the sound of the spider’s movement getting louder and louder. Yinu had to act quick, and with sore arms she managed to reach the centre where the load baring thread was. She hastily climbed through a hole in the web to get closer, pain shooting around her body and exhaustion sapping her energy. With unsteady footing, she successfully reached the thread, placing her hands on either side of the thick string and trying to tear it apart. Even as she pulled and pulled, it barely broke at all, and her tiredness only added to her weakness. </p><p>She couldn’t do it. She wasn’t strong enough by herself. Then again, she already knew that. Even when Bunkbed Junction were fighting her, she had to rely on Mama to help her. Sure, Mama was overbearing and wanted to take control, but that didn’t change the fact that she wouldn’t have been able to last as long without her. This moment was only proving how much she couldn’t do. Because of her, they were going to lose to Vedova. Estallia was going to win. All because she wasn’t strong enough to do it. It was all her fault. </p><p>Yinu kept pulling and pulling at the thread, tears starting to form from frustration. She could see the outline of Vedova’s legs now, approaching at a rapid rate, the Widow’s voice settling in a pit of despair in her stomach. </p><p>“I can’t wait to tear you limb from limb, my little bug!”</p><p>Yinu began to cry, sobbing tears as her body went numb from the pressure. Her mind was racing at this point, reminding her she was the one to get her jacket caught; she was the one to shout away her position; she was the one to be too weak to stop this whole mess. Zuke had been guiding her this whole time, and now he was gone, she was useless. She was just a kid. And now she just a kid who was going to end up a Black Widow’s lunch.</p><p>Vedova came fully into view for Yinu. In no time, the spider had set her eyes on her, licking her fangs with predatory hunger. Time slowed for the pianist as she watched the Widow raise a needle leg up, ready to pierce down on her position. She knew she had to run but her body was frozen. She could only close her eyes and wait for it to happen, wishing in her mind that things had gone differently; that she hadn’t been so foolish.</p><p> </p><p>“GET AWAY FROM MY FRIEND!”</p><p>Yinu only heard a shout and then the sound of Vedova screaming in pain. She cautiously opened her eyes to see Vedova swinging her head around the place, a small object latched on to her with a tight hold. It finally clicked to Yinu as to what the object was when she saw the pink hair swaying about. Momo had managed to escape from her web prison, and was sinking her teeth into Vedova’s face, desperately trying to stay on as the spider flailed about. She was amply distracting Vedova, her attention completely focused on getting the small bat girl off her skin now. It was at the perfect timing too, another figure coming into Yinu’s vision.</p><p>“Oh… wow… that was exhausting…” Zuke lifted himself up to Yinu, his breath ragged and short. “Please remind me after this to start exercising more. Or eat less junk food.” He lifted his head to see Yinu’s face, seeing her with a face full of tears. He didn’t say anything. He took a deep breath out, before unsteadily walking to one side of the thread and wrapping his hands around it. He looked to her and smiled. “You mind taking the other side?”</p><p>Yinu wiped her face with her sleeve. “There is no point. I cannot do it… I am not strong enough.”</p><p>“Well, not by yourself maybe, but there’s no harm in doing something with someone else.” He looked to the spider string, pulling on it slightly to test the density. “You say you’re not strong enough but look at everything you’ve done this fight. I wasn’t the one to hit Vedova when we were bouncing on those trampolines, and I wasn’t the one to set off all those traps so we could get to Vedova.” He hummed before gripping the thread again. “Just because you need help, doesn’t mean you’re useless, Yinu. Everyone needs a little push sometimes. And each push helps you to learn to do it on your own. The only person who is putting pressure on you right now is yourself.”</p><p>Yinu sniffled, bringing her tears under control. She didn’t expect Zuke to be so comforting, but she was certainly welcoming of it. She felt a little bit of content with herself now. She still had so many doubts about her ability, but with time… maybe she would get better. She was only nine after all; she had a long time to work on it.</p><p>The sound of Momo screaming, “WEEEEE!” as she was flung from Vedova’s face was what snapped them back in the moment. Right, comforting pep talk later – they had a spider to take down.</p><p>Yinu hurried over to the other side of the thread and took a hold of one side. “Count of three?” Yinu asked, to which Zuke smirked. “You can do the honours this time.” He said in response. Yinu nodded, saying, “I think I have a better idea” and the two of them focused on the string.</p><p>“Bunka!”</p><p>“Junka!”</p><p>“Shakalaka!”</p><p>And on the “Bam!”, Yinu and Zuke pulled with all their strength at either side. It was resounding to hear the sound of snapping as a hole appeared in the centre of the thread, and slowly started to crawl its way up the full length before reaching the ceiling. It was here where the gap started to spread like a crack over the webbed ceiling, allowing the moonlight to peak back through and giving the group their vision back. It spread much faster than they initially intended, the web easily snapping and breaking from under the pressure now.</p><p>Vedova looked to the light, her face falling from seeing the inevitable crumbling of her structure. “No! No!” She sped off towards the Zuke and Yinu in an attempt to stop them at any cost, but she was struggling to climb her web as it began to shake from the strain as the crack grew bigger and bigger. In one last ditch attempt, Vedova flung herself at the two of them, screaming in panic. But it was too late. The crack expanded all over the ceiling, snapping at the edges and sending the web plummeting down to the ground – everyone inside going with it. </p><p>A loud thud erupted out as Vedova hit the floor with force, dusting catching up in the air as the group all collapsed in a heap along with her. The dust gradually cleared to show Vedova laying on the floor in her human form again, spider web wrapped around her body like a dress to cover herself. Yinu and Zuke shook themselves out of their dazed state, and carefully got to their feet. </p><p>“Mama!” Yinu cried, running over to her mother who was lying on the ground still wrapped up. As she began trying to tear up the web, Momo came running up to join her, biting through the web with a bloody mouth. Whether that was her own or Vedova’s, Yinu didn’t want to know, but Mother quickly became free from her holdings, tearing off her gag and hugging Yinu tightly to her chest. <br/>“Yinu, my dear… I’m so glad you’re okay…” Yinu hugged her back, snuggling into Mother’s warm embrace.</p><p>The sound of sobbing drew their attention to Vedova in the centre of the room. They watched as she knelt on her knees, covering her face with her hands as she bawled out all her emotions. “I’ve done it again… I always do this, and it always has the same result…” Her black hair fell over her face, shadowing her tear covered cheeks. “I always lose control of myself… that is how I lost Rocco all those years ago…” She dipped her head low. “I am so sorry… all of you…”</p><p>The group exchanged glances of concern, before Mother stood and calmly walked to meet the Opera singer, joining her in kneeling. Vedova met Mother’s eyes, peering through her hair to look at Yinu’s Mother was fear and curiosity. Mother spoke with soft words, taking one of Vedova’s hands into her own. “I know all too much about losing someone you love… even if it was not your fault…” She averted her eyes. “You probably blame yourself for it… because you could not do anything to stop it from happening…”</p><p>Vedova sighed. “I gained control of myself again to see him dying in my arms… he was so pale and fragile from my venom… to see him die like that…” She paused, choking up. “I just wish I could have controlled myself… He might still be alive if I could…”</p><p>Mother smiled softly. “I think the best thing you can do is learn to move on. He would want you to do so. Learn to control that side of you that failed you all that time ago.”</p><p>“I’m… I’m not sure I can…” Vedova said, stumbling on her words. “I-I-… I do not know where to start…” She seemed to think for a moment, before continuing. “Luthor said he would help with my sorrows so long as I joined him…” She took her hand from Mother and wrapped her arms around herself. “He was so charming and welcoming… Perhaps his words were a lie…”</p><p>Zuke approached Vedova, holding out a hand to help the lady up. “Then maybe you can help us to stop his lies.” He smiled. “If there is any group who would be more than happy to help you, Vedova, it’s NSR. Besides,” He motioned with his head towards Mother. “I think you have someone who can more than help with what you’re going through.”</p><p>Vedova looked between them all, smiles welcoming and comforting. Even with her losing control and trying to murder them, they were willing to give her a chance. She took Zuke’s hand and helped herself up, white silky dress flowing behind her. She pushed her hair back to clear her face; the black lines looked paler now, still there but faint. “Thank you…” </p><p>Momo ran to hug Vedova, wrapping her arms around the grey lady’s waist. Vedova seems shocked and surprised at the action, responding awkwardly by placing a hand on her head. Momo snuggled into her. </p><p>“Oh right,” Zuke interjected. “Momo said that you were her Mother. I’m a little surprised you didn’t know she was gone. What happened that made you lose her?” He asked. </p><p>Vedova took a while to respond, seemingly thinking hard about it as Momo pulled away from the hug. The bat girl looked at her with wide and hopeful eyes. Vedova stared at Momo, before her eyes went wide and responding with, “I umm… must have lost her when we first arrived in this city.”</p><p>Momo bounced up and down in joy. “Yay! Mama is going to join us!” She cried. Vedova stared at her a little longer, before nodding and replying to Momo with, “I understand.” She turned to the rest of the group, the confidence she had when they first met coming back. “As much as I would like to join you, I feel I have more purpose for you on Luthor’s side. I can get information to you should you need it.”</p><p>It wasn’t the answer the NSR artists were expecting. Mother stepped forward. “Are you sure? We would not want to put you in harm’s way. He is sure to find out that you have lost Natura, and from what we know of, he does not take nicely to failure.”</p><p>The singer put her hands up in dismissal. “That is true, however I believe I have something that should make him keep me around. As long as I can prove I am still of use to him, I should be able to get you anything you need. In the meantime,” She walked over to Momo and placed a awkward hand on her head. “Please look after my daughter for me. You have clearly done a good enough job so far.”</p><p>The artists weren’t really sure of what to say, but agreed to the sentiment. Momo ran over to Zuke and took his hand, latching on to him as a big brother figure. Vedova started to make her way out of the concert hall before pausing. “Oh! My bad.” She spun on her heels to face the stage. With a lift of her hand, they watched Yinu’s piano become free from its web dome, to which the pianist sped towards it and ran a finger over its body. “I shall take my leave now.” Vedova announced. “Hopefully I can persuade Luthor to keep me around. If I do not make it…” She paused. “Make sure you take care of… my daughter for me.”</p><p>And with that she strolled out of the venue, heading towards the NSR tower to confront the leader of Estallia himself.</p><p>--------------------------------------------------</p><p>“Sir… Umm… I have some unfortunate news…”</p><p>Luthor sighed in exasperation, rubbing his temple. He didn’t need to hear what news Betty had to know what it was. Another district lost – great. Luthor brought his other hand to stir his cup of tea, the soft tinks bouncing off the walls of the quiet office. He didn’t really need the districts anymore now that his plan was well underway, but he would still prefer to keep a hold of them. He sighed again. “If I’m honest, I expected more from Vedova. The widow was probably too caught up on the death of her husband… How pathetic.”</p><p>Betty raised an eyebrow. “But… Sir… I thought that you-”</p><p>“How are the remaining districts doing then, Betty?” Luthor interrupted. The girl fumbled around with her tablet, pulling up a screen and responding with, “Oh, well… we’ve heard nothing from AKIKO I’m afraid.” Luthor scowled, making Betty promptly change the subject. “B-but! We have been told that the trainees are performing spectacularly! And we’ve received word from Dream Fever that everything on their end is running correctly. We’re around Fifty percent done with the proceedings.”</p><p>Luthor hummed in approval. Some positive things then. “Perhaps I should take the time to visit AKIKO sometime soon. Maybe I can encourage her to actually provide assistance to the company for once.” He looked to Betty. “I take it we haven’t heard anything from our traitor then?”</p><p>Betty pushed up her glasses and averted her eyes. “Unfortunately… no. But-but I’m sure they’re working closely with AKIKO… maybe…”</p><p>“I can only hope…” Luthor murmured.</p><p>Kliff coughed to gain attention. “If you don’t mind me adding Luth- Sir, I have almost managed to extract everything from the NSR database. I should be done within the next week or so.” He adjusted his scarf. “Of course, a lot of it is the bare information. We don’t know what or how they’re doing right now which is unfortunate.”</p><p>“Can you not get into the information on that tablet they have? You hacked me in so I could speak with them.” Luthor asked, taking a sip.</p><p>“Ah, well…” Kliff pushed up his glasses. “Hacking into the camera and hacking into the information contained on there are very different. It turns out Sayu’s creators are very skillful with covering their data up. It could take weeks, maybe even months to get into it.”</p><p>Luthor scowled. “Then perhaps you better get on it then, Kliff.” Luthor touched the cup to his lips and tipped, finishing off its remaining content. “I didn’t allow you here to merely get me the bare minimum – Especially when that minimum is of minuet use to us as of now.”</p><p>Kliff kept his mouth shut. He had already seen Luthor’s treatment of others who opposed him, and he wasn’t about to argue with the head of Estallia about how he just didn’t have enough time to do what he asked. He dreaded to think how Tatiana was doing, and didn’t want to experience that himself. He murmured, “Yes Sir” in response, staring at his tablet in discontent. </p><p>An uncomfortable silence fell over the room as Luthor poured yet another cup of tea; the only sound being the soft trickle of the orange-brown liquid as it met the beautifully decorated ceramic. The silence was interrupted however as the doors of the office opened, a woman in a white silk dress striding into the room. Luthor’s face dropped to a frown as he placed the tea pot back down. The air became tense as the woman walked past Betty and Kliff, stopping a little too close to the desk for Luthor’s liking. Luthor chuckled. “You have some nerve coming here, Vedova.”</p><p>Vedova didn’t flinch, standing tall and confident. “I am still of service to you. As one of the artists who has been a part of your company the longest; you should know my talents and skills.”</p><p>Luthor raised an eyebrow, his voice stoic and emotionless. “Oh really?” The man stood up from his chair, making Vedova faulter and take a step back. Luthor folded his hands behind his back and strolled around the desk to face the Opera Singer, a little too close for comfort. “Vedova, what could possibly make you think that I would keep you? You’re an old, frail woman whose sanity and compassion has drained over the years from a strange desire to hold onto a man you lost all those years ago.” He chuckled. “You can’t go a single day without yearning for the past which makes you susceptible and weak- yet you claim that you are still of some service to me?”</p><p>Vedova swallowed hard, trying to steel herself. “I am still helping you, Luthor. Even after my district was lost, I still supported your side. I have lied for you. I have not failed in my loyalty.”</p><p>The head of Estallia scoffed with an air of cynicism. “I’m sure you haven’t.” He nodded over to Betty who stalled for a moment, then started tapping on her tablet, finishing off her motions with a sad nod back. Luthor turned his attention back to Vedova, clasping his hands together with a smirk. “You see Vedova… If you failed me once, I don’t want to keep you in my company. Why would I want someone who I know has failed me before? How do I know that you won’t do it again?” </p><p>As Luthor spoke, the doors to the office burst open, several guards in black and blue uniforms running in to surround Vedova. Vedova took a deep breath, lip quivering slightly. Luthor continued. “So Vedova, if you’re not a part of my company anymore, you don’t belong here.” He leant towards her, bringing his mouth close to her ear. The world around her felt like it had faded to silence as she closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable words. Luthor whispered in her ear,</p><p>“And I’m sure you know where my enemies go.”</p><p>In an instant, the guards lunged at Vedova, gripping her with force around her limbs and body. It felt like vices were squeezing her, almost trying to break bone. Even before Vedova had gathered her bearings, the guards had dropped her to the floor and were beginning to drag her out. She was trying to dig her heels into the floor to stop, but it was futile from the sheer strength of the collective group of guards. Vedova watched as Luthor, leaning against his desk with a smug expression, slowly shifted further away from her as her body approached the entrance to the office. She knew deep down that it was going to end like this… she shouldn’t have helped back there…</p><p>Vedova made one last ditch attempt to appeal, crying out, “Your traitor, Luthor! Your Traitor!” but her pleas of her fell on deaf ears as she watched the man pick up his filled cup and drink from it. She knew that expression all too well. There was only one place the guards were taking her to.</p><p>As the doors closed on Vedova, Kliff gripped his tablet just a little tighter.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Of course Vedova's music was given last chapter, but to write this one I was listening to:<br/>-"vs. Yinu" (We all know it)<br/>-"Yoko Shimomura - Vector to the Heavens" (I cried at both Kingdom Hearts Orchestras when it came on, and I don't currently have access to a PS4 so can't play Melody of Memory. It hurts.)</p><p>Reminder that I am still taking OC submissions for the OC chapter! You can either join the discord (check last chapter for invite) or message me at my tumblr @rendekobora. Preferably submissions need a picture, a description, some attacks of your OC (It's okay if you don't have any) and you can throw in the type of music if you want. The OC chapter won't be till like Feb so you have time.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Another side of the usual route</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Short chapter today. But lots of stuff to think about from it!<br/>For the people who follow my other fics, I'm sorry to announce that you won't get any chapters on those for a little while since I have lots of essays and things I need doing. Once It's Christmas break I should be able to get at least a chapter out for each of them. Usual updates for RTR of course<br/>Hope you enjoy this chapter! Please tell me your thoughts in the comments!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sewers were quiet and uncomfortable when the small group arrived back with all the artists on different sides of the room from each other. They were all talking in their own groups, clearly making assumptions as to who the traitor amongst them was and who they could trust. It wasn’t pleasant to arrive back to after the ordeal they had just experienced, but they were at least grateful to be back safe and alive. At the very least their successful retaking of Natura had gotten them another ally that was hopefully going to keep in contact with them about Estallia’s plans. They had also witnessed Natura to seemingly come back full of life with the flower buds starting to peep through the wilted remains. The Natura gardens were known for being persistent and fast growing, so the district would be back in full bloom in no time, even if it might take a little while.</p><p>They greeted at the entrance to the main living room of the sewer base by Neon J, who was seemingly elated to see the Mother and daughter of Natura back safe and sound. He hugged Mother, pulling Yinu into his side to join in the embrace. “I am always happy to see people return from their endeavours. How was the mission? Did you get Natura back?” He asked. It was here that Neon took note of their appearances, tired sunken eyes, cuts and bruises, and hair a mess. </p><p>Mother pulled away from the hug, attempting to comb back her hair into place. “We did as a matter of fact. It was taxing though; we weren’t sure we were going to get out alive if I’m honest.”</p><p>Neon’s face immediately dropped. “You were put in such a situation as to be hurt so badly!?” He bowed his head slightly and sighed. “I should have gone with you. My apologies that you had to go through that. My presence might have made the battle easier.”</p><p>Yinu shook her head, then gently grabbed the Cyborg’s hand. “But then you could have gotten hurt too, Mr J. I do not want that.” She smiled up at him, squeezing his palm. “What matters is we got through this, and I have Natura, and Daddy’s piano back!” She pointed to Momo. “Oh oh! And we found Momo’s mama! She is going to help against Estallia.” </p><p>The mention of Momo bought Supernova to attention, making his way over from where Team Sayu were gathered and kneeling in front of the bat girl, rubbing her head softly. “That’s splendid news! Once this is all over you can go back to your mother, Momo. I’m sure she’ll be more than overjoyed to have you back.” </p><p>Momo smiled – which quickly faded to a frown of uncertainty. “That means that… I’m going to have to leave you… and big brother Zuke… and Yinu…” She murmured under her breathe, her hands shuffling around each other as she pondered. The DJ noticed and chuckled, rubbing her head a little more. “Don’t worry little one, you’re always welcome to visit myself in Cast Tech. You’ll have a special permanent privilege pass that you can use at any time.” He said, comfortingly. His words gave Momo a small amount of solace, but the thought still twinged in her mind.</p><p>Zuke observed the room, looking at the separation between the groups. “I take it we’re still suspicious about everyone then.” </p><p>The two gentlemen nodded with a sigh, Neon J speaking for the two of them. “It is understandable to a degree. I would not want to converse with the enemy side, or someone committing treason on Vinyl City.” He seemed to ping up right at his own sentence, taking a step back away from Zuke and looking at him with a glare. Zuke rolled his eyes at the ordeal, before changing the subject and motioning to the couch in the centre where Team Sayu and Mayday were gathered on one side. “I recommend patching up before we do anything else.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I know I’ve still got some wounds that need fixing.” Mama, Yinu and Momo agreed, and they headed over, Zuke grabbing the first aid box as they went.</p><p>The tension instantly built as they took their seats, some of the members of Team Sayu giving them the side eye. Mayday glanced over, but went back to conversing with the teens, trying her best to ignore them. Zuke ignored them too, handing Mother some medical supplies to fix up any issues Yinu and herself were having, then getting his own to help fix up Momo and himself. The worst injured was probably Momo with her teeth and gums sore from the bite, and her mouth having tiny cuts all over. Zuke wasn’t sure what he could do about her teeth, but he could clear the rest up so that was something. Once he was finished with her, he sorted his own wounds, cautiously cleaning the back of his head with a cloth. As he ran his fingers over it. He could feel that it had healed slightly from the time Glean had attacked them which was a bonus since he didn’t really have what he needed to fix up a head injury. In fact, they were running out of medical supplies in general… he’d have to ask Zam about getting more when he got back from his vacation.</p><p>Momo ran to the other side of the couch where Supernova was standing and wrapped her arms around his leg, to which he responded by picking her up and placing her on his shoulders as she giggled away. He was busy staring at the process Remi was doing on his tablet. They had yet to break into the file marked “R.UN.A” and were still struggling to do so. They still didn’t know who had sent it, or what it even contained, but if the person said that they had a common enemy, they could only assume it was something useful to them in their fight against Estallia.</p><p>An angry red light flashed on screen as a buzzer sound went off, leading to Remi slamming his fists the coffee table. “Come on! We’ve been going at this for what feels like forever!” He raised a hand to rub his temple. “We’ve tried almost every code and binary in the book by now and we’re still not in it.”</p><p>Sofa rubbed his chin in thought. “They say they want to help us but won’t allow us to get in so easily.” He hummed. “Maybe they want us to prove ourselves? That we’re worthy enough to receive the information?” </p><p>The rest of Team Sayu looked at him in disbelief, Dodo saying, “You’ve watched too much anime, Sofa.” The editor pointed to the katana on Dodo’s back, earning a shrug from Dodo. He continued. “But seriously, what could they possibly want us to prove to them? They obviously know who we are if they were able to get into our tablet.” He paused. “Maybe one of the Estallia artists is trying to help us? Might explain why they’re testing us if they are.”</p><p>Mayday scoffed, sitting up from her sprawled position with a groan as she clutched her stomach. “I doubt it. They all seem pretty loyally scared from what we’ve seen so far. If any of them were to go against Luthor, that would take serious guts considering he doesn’t take too lightly to traitors.” </p><p>The group thought, drawing their attention back to the screen where Remi had begun to type various combinations of code into it. “Whatever, whoever or whyever, we’ve got to get into this file. I have a feeling that something we need is in here.” Remi stated, his voice firm and confident. </p><p>Supernova and Team Sayu began to murmur to each other about tech things and terminology, signalling to Mayday that it her participation was over. She sighed and got up from the couch, clutching her stomach as it twinged from pain. The break she had taken did help a little with the bruise – Or at least the pain anyway. The bruise was still very much there even if it hadn’t spread any further. It was a relief that it was less painful now, but its presence worried her. She had to keep on fighting though; she couldn’t let them just do the work for her. They only had two districts left to get now.</p><p>Mayday shuffled her way over to the small kitchen area, grabbing a cup and pouring herself a glass of water. It was refreshing and cold as it slid down her throat, quelling the stinging in her stomach. It was then that a voice came from behind her. She turned around startled, almost dropping her glass. Standing before her was Zuke, scratching the back of her head and avoiding eye contact with her. Her face fell. “Zuke. Did you need something from me?”</p><p>Zuke sighed. “Listen May, I think we should talk.”</p><p>She finished her drink and set it aside. She said nothing as she turned to look him in the eye, which caused him to flinch. May allowed him to continue.</p><p>“I… I’m sorry… for everything that I’ve said to you…” He paused. “In that fight in Natura… seeing Yinu using your skills… I couldn’t help but think of you…” He groaned and rubbed his head in embarrassment. “I shouldn’t have said the things I said.”</p><p>Mayday looked him up and down, her eyes wide. She laughed quietly in disbelief, using the countertop to support herself. “Dude, you really think I’m just going to forgive you?” She laughed again. “You got mad at me for just saying you fancied AI, that I hadn’t been putting in work in the boss fights, that I was suspicious – You believed Eve to be less of a traitor then me! Your buddy!” Her face fell to a frown as she rubbed her arms in awkwardness, dropping eye contact. “Look, I appreciate the apology but… I can’t believe you when you say you’re sorry. After everything you’ve accused me of do you think I can just take your apology?” </p><p>It hurt Zuke to hear it, but he honestly expected as much. It was unlike the either of them to argue with each other, and these past disputes had only shown the little cracks in their friendship. “Is there anything I can do to make you forgive me?” He asked in response. </p><p>May sighed, turning her back on him. “I… I don’t know…” She looked over her shoulder to him. “Don’t get me wrong, we’re still Bunkbed Junction – red light and green light – I just…” She sighed again. “I’m not sure I can call you a buddy right now…” </p><p>With the words spoken, she walked away from him and back to the couch to rest, leaving the drummer to his own thoughts.<br/>--------------------------------------</p><p>Several hours had passed by now with the artists still staying apart from each other in an unsettling silence. The only real sounds were the murmurs and discussions between Team Sayu and Supernova as they debated the existence and purpose of the file. While many of them had managed to get some kind of sleep or rest, it hardly changed how exhausted they were of this whole situation. They had been up against Estallia for a while now and they were feeling the toll on both their sanity and their relationships. They were all going to be glad once this was over, once Luthor and Estallia were out of NSR tower and they could get back to life as normal.</p><p>Normal – was that even possible now? They felt like they had changed so much; change either in themselves or in others. They were seeing sides to each other that they had never seen before: good and bad. Estallia had put them in a position that none of them had experienced before, and as a result, a lot of them were seeing things in a new light. </p><p>Neon J approached Zuke and Mayday on the couch, bringing them both to attention from their various activities. He cleared his throat. “My men are ready for departure. With our skills and style, we shall dominate whatever artist is there and reclaim back what is ours.” He saluted to them, the boys at the side of the room doing the same.</p><p>Mayday shuffled to her feet with a small groan. “Nice. We can head out now if you want. I managed to get some sleep anyway.”</p><p>Zuke glanced to Mayday, ignoring the awkwardness between them. “Umm, are you okay for heading out?” He pointed to her stomach. “Even if you’re not in as much pain now, going after an artist isn’t a good idea if that bruise is still hurting you.”</p><p>She blew a raspberry at him, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. “It’s fine lah. I should be okay. It basically doesn’t hurt at all anymore.” She paused when Zuke gave her a questionable look. She rolled her eyes. “It’s fine really.” She picked up her guitar and placed it on her back. “If it starts to hurt badly again during the fight in Metro, I’ll sit out on Dreamfever.”</p><p>The drummer sighed. “Fine. Sounds like a plan.” Zuke said as he got to his feet, tapping his pocket to make sure his drumsticks were with him. Neon nodded to the both of them as 1010 joined them, the manager saying, “After you then,” and gesturing to the sewer entrance. Mayday and Zuke took the invite and set off for the surface, Neon J and 1010 following closely behind. With a team of eight, they were going to outmatch the Metro artist in terms of people; they could only hope that was enough.</p><p> -------------------------------------</p><p>It felt great to walk through the many districts they had retrieved now, admiring the hard work they had put in through all their troubles. 1010 had taken off ahead of them to scout out, but that didn’t stop them from taking a breather. Through the comforting Festival Plaza, the space atmosphere of Cast Tech, the bright lights of Akusuka, and the slowly rejuvenating nature of Natura, the sight that they were successfully winning against Estallia was one that bought them joy. As they approached their next battle, they could only wonder how long it would take till they had taken back all the districts.</p><p>“Umm… Boss? You need to come see this.” </p><p>They heard White’s voice ahead of them, making Mayday, Zuke and Neon J exchange a look before rushing past the remainder of Natura to meet the boy band. They froze in both shock and confusion as they joined the bots, looking on with awe at the scene before them. It was bizarre to them all, many eyebrows raising and many questions coming up. </p><p>Before them was not Metro district with the neon lights and robotic aesthetic. Before them was not the Barraca Mansion with its humongous size and its secretive gates.</p><p>Before them was Dreamfever in all its artistic glory.</p><p>Mayday had to do a doubletake. “B-B-But…. Huh?!” She slapped her cheek to try to wake herself up but obviously nothing happened. “Isn’t Metro supposed to be here? How can it not be here? Has it just disappeared?” She turned to Neon J. “Can your district just get up and move? Is the district a robot too?”</p><p>Neon glanced at Dreamfever, then rubbed his chin in thought. “No, my District is not a robot-”</p><p>“That would be cool, Dad!” Yellow interrupted, his statement followed by nods from the rest of the boys. Neon sighed and continued.</p><p>“Metro District is not a robot, however there is a way to move the districts.” He seemed to pause for a moment, before a diagram appeared on his screen that Bunkbed Junction look at with curiosity; Neon J talked over it, pointing with his finger at specific parts. “You see, back when the war had barely begun, we implemented a new flooding and security system into Vinyl City.” The screen changed to show another diagram. “The city is established on a circular base, with each district being on a different layer – hence the name Vinyl City. As part of this design and to ensure everyone’s safety, the layers can be moved around to stop damage and prevent disasters spreading to certain areas.” His screen changed back to his usual radar as he looked out to Dreamfever. “It was a sophisticated and useful idea for the situation at the time, but hasn’t been used in years…</p><p>Zuke placed a finger on his chin. “Well we’re not been experiencing any disasters at the moment, so for what reason have they moved Dreamfever here?”</p><p>They all paused in thought, Blue being the one to speak up. “They don’t want us in Metro obviously. Whatever they’re doing possibly involves the artist in charge of Metro the most. Doing this means they get more time.”</p><p>Green pouted with a groan. “So we have to wait to get to our home back? Man, that sucks…” He folded his arms over his chest in a sulk, earning an eyeroll from Red who responded with, “Dude, you’re welcome to try getting it back without us. But for now-” He spun on his heels and started to walk back through Natura. “I’m gonna head back for a break. I ain’t doing anything if I don’t have to.” </p><p>1010 looked at each other with uncertainty, before following after Red; Yellow and Green trailing at the back of the group. Neon J nodded in compliance, humming his agreement. “My men have a point. Dreamfever is best suited for yourselves and Eve. We would be of more service if it was our domain.” He turned to follow his troops, addressing them one last time saying, “We shall inform Eve that she is needed.” then took his leave, disappearing down the growing shrub lined path and leaving Mayday and Zuke alone to wait for Eve’s arrival.</p><p>It was very suspicious though. Sure, Luthor clearly didn’t want them reaching Metro District, but for what reason? What was so important about the 1010 district that it warranted him switching up the usual order? Whatever lay waiting for them in Metro was something that filled them with fear and worry, but they had to focus on the now. It was time to take back Dreamfever, and with Eve becoming visible from the other side of Natura, it was time that they prepared for whatever awaited them in the diva’s district.</p><p>---------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>The doors to the mansion opened to reveal a darkened inside to the three visitors. It was dimly lit by glitching white Neon lights with a rolling fog drifting through the corridors and doors, and a low hum of music coming from the many modified speakers around the building. As the three visitors walked through the door and continued towards the main foyer to reach the centre room, they must have walked past hundreds of broken TVs and various electronics, wires and sparks coming from their cores. The crunch under their feet from broken glass and plastic made it clear the damage that had been done on the district. It was intimidating to two of the visitors who gulped in sync from the ominous atmosphere. The third couldn’t care less, mere rolling his eyes at the sight of everything.</p><p>Luthor pushed open the doors to the centre room of Barraca Mansion, the double doors emitting a loud thud as they were slammed hard against the walls of the room. He strode in with confidence, marching towards the figure in the far back of the room sitting lazily across a make-shift throne, Betty and Kliff following after him with caution. The head of Estallia stopped dead in his tracks directly in front of the figure, looking down at them with his arms folded behind his back. His look of disappointment sounded through his voice as he addressed the figure:</p><p>“AKIKO.”</p><p>AKIKO glanced up from her phone to look at Luthor, an exasperated sigh coming from her. She placed her phone down beside her, then fake smiled towards Luthor in a relaxed position, responding in a similar manner. “Luthor.” </p><p>The man flinched in anger.</p><p>AKIKO smirked, sarcasm layering her tone. “To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing the man of Estallia here?” She fake gasped, sitting up and leaning towards the business man. “Did you come to see me personally? My, what an honour!”</p><p>Luthor grunted in response, his voice cold. “Don’t see it as a treat. I’m here with complaints, not praise.” He looked her up and down. “My first would be your attire.”</p><p>The mention made Kliff look her over: Pale white skin with long deep black hair and red eyes, AKIKO certainly made Kliff feel unnerved just being around her. Her attire made of a tight black leather crop top, tight leather shorts with half a white skirt around one side, and thick soled black boots only added to that uneasiness, taken further by the belts wrapped around her neck, waist and thigh. While he was almost happy at how she had the courage to challenge Luthor himself, he couldn’t help but feel unsettled by her presence.</p><p>AKIKO flicked her hair. “Apologies that I don’t look like a typical British arse such as yourself, but I prefer to be a little more stylistic with what I wear.” She stood up from her throne and walked past Luthor, gesturing to the surroundings. “Besides, I feel my clothing is appropriate, you know? This whole futuristic-robotic type stuff. Monochrome is very much futuristic by the way.” After finishing she glanced to Betty, giving her a little wave. “Oh, sorry Betty. Didn’t see you through your bosses’ ego. Are you doing okay? Is your dog doing alright? I haven’t caught up with you recently.”</p><p>Betty smiled softly, clutching her tablet to her chest in embarrassment. “Oh well, Lily is doing great, thanks. I’m a little stressed out, but it’s all okay. There’s little parts of the job that I-”</p><p>“AKIKO, I prefer if we stick to strictly business when I’m around.” Luthor interrupted with a voice of stone. Betty drooped her head in silence, resulting in Kliff placing a hand on her shoulder in comfort. She smiled a little at him from the action, but it was clear she was still hurt.</p><p>“If that’s what you want, Luthor.” AKIKO replied with folded arms. “I didn’t expect you of all people to show affection, after all.” She turned and walked to the side of the room where a computer made of various pieces lay, and took a seat at a gaming chair situated in front of it. “I take it you wanted to talk about your BIIIIIIGGGGGG plan and everything.”</p><p>Luthor adjusted his tie. “I did as a matter of fact. You’ve clearly not been doing any of what you should be. Dar has told me about your little trips to his establishment; about making a fuss with the patrons and gallivanting with the recruits.”</p><p>AKIKO sniggered, turning on her swivel chair with a grin. “Oh come on, It was a few drinks and a couple of games. I made a jackpot I’ll have you know. You should be proud of me for my cunning wit and charm. It got me some fun times during the night anyway.” She winked at Betty, who laughed under her breath.</p><p>“You should be doing as I have ordered you.” Luthor deadpanned. “We’re losing districts by the week. Having the plan ready will be a necessity, meaning you should be doing your instructions.”</p><p>The girl groaned and pointed to the computer, before turning herself towards it. Luthor joined at her side as she went on explaining. “As a matter of fact, I’ve done a lot of what you’ve asked already; You of all people should know that I’m not stupid when it comes to this stuff.” She paused to peer at him through the corner of her eye, checking for any emotion in his face – there was none. “Everything is good to go. AI getting into the information saved me some time to dig through everything. It’s bad enough trying to find anything in the Estallia files, let alone something that big. All I need now is to get the information from… well, I’m sure you know. She’s the only one left in terms of districts besides myself.”</p><p>“And what of the contact with the traitor? Betty has informed me multiple times that you haven’t given us anything of what they’ve said.” Luthor asked.</p><p>AKIKO scowled, spinning to face him. “I’ve not said anything because I’m quite frankly sick to death with them, which, thank you for talking with me before making that agreement. Never get any peace because of that. Stans aren’t something I want to have close interactions with.” </p><p>Luthor smiled in satisfaction as he sauntered away from her. “Perhaps you should learn to grow up and deal with those kinds of things then. Stop having these fantasies that you so desire.”</p><p>AKIKO clenched her fist, her voice as monotone and serious as her colour scheme. “You mean like how you’ve dealt with her?”</p><p>The music seemed to fade from the room as Luthor stood rigid. Kliff and Betty took some steps back towards the wall and away from him, sensing the tension and anger circulating from the head of Estallia. AKIKO was barely threatened by it, spinning in her chair to face him with an air of boredom about her, resting her head on her fist. They watched as Luthor stood up tall, balling with anger and preparing to give AKIKO what for, but instead choosing to shake himself off and brush down his clothes. He breathed a deep sigh, refusing to look back at the artist as he finished their conversation with,</p><p>“I expect you to have it completed by tomorrow. Don’t disappoint me.”</p><p>Done with talking anymore, Luthor strode towards the entrance and disappeared down the foyer, leaving Kliff, Betty and AKIKO in the room.</p><p>“I know Betty knows how Estallia is,” AKIKO spoke, turning back towards the computer. “But you should take this as a warning, Kliff.” </p><p>Kliff perked up at his name, confused since he had never remembered it being mentioned. “How do you-?”</p><p>“Even if you didn’t agree with what NSR was doing, being a part of Estallia is not a solution to your previous failures.” AKIKO paused, running her fingers through her hair. “Luthor is a broken man who wants something as a result of his own past failures. Siding with him is not wise. In the end, helping him always leads to yourself being hurt.” She turned her head slightly to lock eyes with him, her features serious and stern. “I would make up with your past before you get in too deep.” She looked back to the computer and began to type, fading back into her own world.</p><p>Kliff wasn’t sure how to process it, a million questions running through his head. What did she mean by that? What did she know about Luthor? His thoughts we’re cut short by a deep shout of “Betty! Kliff! We’re leaving.”, the two of them looking at each other as a result. “Coming, sir!” Betty shouted back, hurrying out the room to go join Luthor. Kliff took it as his time to leave too, beginning to make his way out of the room, prior to stopping near the doors. He couldn’t get all his questions answered, but he had one he needed answering.</p><p>“If it’s so dangerous, why are you still with him?” He asked the girl. Kliff watched her chuckle, her focus still trained on the desktop as she answered him. </p><p>“I don’t have a choice.”</p><p>Kliff felt Betty tug on his arm, signalling that they had to urgently leave. He knew that too – who knows what Luthor would do with something as small as being late. He glanced down in solitude, replying with, “In that case, I hope you can get out too, AKIKO.” </p><p>She didn’t respond.</p><p>With a sigh of complacency, Kliff turned to exit, leaving AKIKO to herself in the dark room.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I was actually listening to a DnD podcast type thing... called "Dimension 20" while writing this chapter (That and Vocaloid but we're not allowed to do Vocaloid for a while. Too much Vocaloid. But do listen to KIRA -Ladylike feat GUMI.)<br/>I suppose an appropriate song would be,</p><p>- Set It Off - "Bleak December"</p><p>For multiple reasons naturally.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. vs. Marinette (Act 1)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>BATTLE HYPE! <br/>This was the hardest chapter to write so far both from a character perspective and from a lack of motivation. <br/>That and realising I've spent over 150+ hours writing this fic alone. <br/>Comments and love are greatly appreciated. It's been a stressful week.</p><p>But enough about me, BATTLE HYPE WOO!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“What in the name of Davinci have they done to my district!?”</p><p>Eve’s mouth was agape as she, Mayday, and Zuke passed the threshold between Natura and Dreamfever. What once was a stylised district with artwork decorating every corner was now what Eve frankly considered to be a monstrosity to the name of art, for scattered about the place in clumps of mismatching colours and clay was thick, gloopy paint. It trickled down the walls and off sculptures, splattering onto the floor and making everything worse. It ran like rivers over the ground and down the many stairs, the sight of it made further horrific by the dismal lighting. Mayday and Zuke had witnessed the state of Dreamfever back when they first went to confront Luthor, but it was never this bad when they first passed through; the artist in control must have gotten a hold of their “creative” side in the time between then and now.</p><p>Eve was on the brink of tears. All her hard work – and many others too! Within a matter of weeks, the time and effort had been dashed into nothingness with only slight glimpses of the original work seen under the mass of paint. The diva cupped her face in her hands, letting out a sigh. She didn’t know what to feel: frustrated? Angry? Sad? – everything inside of her was all balled up into one. This was a travesty against both her name and the many artists of Vinyl City. She was all for people adapting to their creative sides, but at the expense of others, she could never allow this. She steadied herself, gaining her composure before heading further into Dreamfever, Mayday and Zuke following after her without a word.</p><p>It was apparent where the artist was located as they travelled through the district. While the paint was unorderly and uncouth, it did allow a shining row of lights to gleam brightly for them, lining a path through Dreamfever and directly towards one of the main art galleries. The art gallery was redecorated too with various colours of paint; the design resembling that of a classy building with gargoyles and stained-glass windows. It only made Eve more frustrated, eyeing up the mismatch of clay made to represent trees standing outside the venue.</p><p>“I hope this doesn’t get any worse…” Eve sighed as the three of them entered the building.</p><p>The inside of the venue was dark as they entered and walked through the halls, the three of them barely able to see the art pieces darted about the place. At the very least the art here hadn’t been damaged and ruined which was relieving for Eve – she would still have some of her art to display once this was all over. Even with the reassurance of her art, the area made her and the rock duo uncomfortable. They were vulnerable and unprepared, and the fact this was one artist they had no real clue about made it even worse.</p><p>“Eve,” Mayday spoke up with a whisper. “Do you know where the artist might be? This is your venue after all.</p><p>Eve hummed in thought. “My venue isn’t fully designed for musical performance. There is no one place that the artist may be.” She paused in place, the other two bumping into her. “If there was anywhere that I would choose as my area to perform, it would probably be…” </p><p>After a short pause, Eve set off down an adjoining hall, Mayday and Zuke quickly following after her silhouette through the darkness. They seemed to walk forever through the rooms of the gallery until they greeted by little lights lining a path forward, practically urging them to follow. With hesitation, they did as such, staying cautious and weary of their surroundings. It was clear they were possibly walking into some kind of trap, so they had to be ready.</p><p>The answer to that came quickly after they had reached the end of the rows of lights. As the trio stopped at the end, the lights of the room flicked on to reveal a makeshift stage, accompanied with painted on parted curtains and cardboard backgrounds. Its design was messy, dried paint drips and jagged edges on the corners of everything, which was only made worse by the cracked and broken pieces of art that had been moved to make way for the stage. Needless to say, the sight of the stage and the shattered art wasn’t a pleasant sight for Eve to see, the diva clenching her fists in frustration.</p><p>“Welcome everyone!”</p><p>The artist looked to the figure in the centre of the stage who was positioned gracefully on her tip toes with her arms wide and hands pointed. She was short and thin, with her brown hair in buns either side of her head and a light amount of make up applied to her face. On her body lay a beautiful icy blue and white strapless tutu with ribbon crossed down her front and small ruffles on her forearms. She was perched atop of blue ballet shoes whose ribbon was wrapped ascending around her leg, a small bow sealing off the top. But what bought Mayday, Zuke and Eve’s attention was her body; for she was built like a doll with wooden skin and ball joints, a doll like one you would use for sketches and drawings. It was then they realised it wasn’t makeup across her face, but paint – her features were drawn on.</p><p>The doll turned solely her head and rigidly bowed to them, speaking in a soft, airy voice. “I do apologise for the mess I’ve made. They say the whole world is a stage; I only wanted to make it as such.”</p><p>Eve huffed. “If you’re as tuned to the arts as you appear to be, then you should know the disgrace to art you caused as a result! You ruined pieces that had time and effort put into them! That was hard work that has been shrouded by a veil of acrylic!”</p><p>The doll stood up straight from her bow, placing a curved hand under her chin. “Then you don’t consider my work art then?” She replied with an air of innocence. “If you do not see my work as art, then what do you see of me?” She pointed her hand towards Eve. “What do you see of yourself?”</p><p>Eve faltered. “What do you mean what do I see in myself? I am Eve. I am a fortitude of art and creativity.”</p><p>The group watched the doll tilted her head. “But are you a piece of art? Are you your own hard work? Do you see yourself as time and effort? What has gone into you to make you a piece of art?” She righted herself then spun on her toes, landing with her feet turned out. “If you are Eve, then I am Marinette. I am a piece of art made with time and effort.” She tilted her head again. “Can you say that you are a piece of art, Eve?”</p><p>Eve appeared taken back from the question, bringing a hand to her chest. Her reaction caused Zuke to step in front of her, pulling his drumsticks out of his pocket. “Hey! Eve is art, especially after everything that’s led to the person she is now!” After a pause, Mayday joined him with guitar in hand, nodding in agreement.  She wasn’t close with Eve, nor really understanding if not being a piece of art was an insult or not, but she felt the need to stand up for her. Eve wasn’t the person that Mayday had first thought she was when they had first met at their Dreamfever take over, and she wasn’t going to just stand there and let someone possibly insult her.</p><p>Marinette looked between Mayday, Zuke, and Eve, her wooden head spinning on its axis. She hummed in delight, before going en pointe and tippy toeing across the stage towards the back, landing with a gentle plie and looking at the trio. “My! It is as if Giselle has come to life! A dynamic sought for fiction in the real world!” She curtsied to them. “This story shall pass through performance after performance; written for all future generations to see!”</p><p>On cue, the soft sound of ballet music came over the area as Marinette adjusted herself on stage to a more dynamic pose. “We shall have a battle that rivals the Nutcracker! A love story as powerful as Swan Lake!” They watched as she titled her head back to an uncomfortable manner, before shifting her arm to her neck joint and pulling out a shining, grey sabre. Once it was dislodged from her neck, she manoeuvred it around gracefully in her hands. Marinette leapt gracefully towards the centre of the stage, and the second her feet landed, a burst of icy cold air erupted from her feet, covering the floors and the walls in Ice and snow. Assured that the stage was set, Marinette bowed to them once again. </p><p>“May the first act begin!”</p><p>In an instant, Marinette thrust her sabre into the ground, causing spears of ice to shoot up in a row right towards the group. Startled but ready, they dove out the way, Zuke and Eve going one way and Mayday going another. The spears continued till it reached the entrance of the room where it shot out and covered the doorway in a thick veil of ice, sealing them in the room. They couldn’t back out of this performance now.</p><p>Mayday promptly got to her feet to observe the wall of ice in front of her. She could see Zuke and Eve on the other side, steeling herself as she gripped her guitar in her hands. With great force, she swung her guitar at the ice – only to stumble backwards as it made contact. As she steadied herself, she looked towards the wall of ice, seeing not even a dent or a crack in its surface. Mayday huffed. This situation was frustrating, but she had to stay calm. “Guys! Are you alright?!” She asked, cupping her hands around her mouth to make her voice louder.</p><p>--------------------------------------</p><p>“We’re okay! Are you good, May?!” Zuke shouted back in reply. He was lending a hand to Eve to help her up, the fashionista in question murmuring under her breathe as she was doing so. She was understandably annoyed with everything: She was still in wrecked clothes from when Luthor had attacked her, her district was ruined, her art was destroyed, and now her gallery was covered in ice controlled by a wooden doll who had essentially called her trash. Needless to say, she was going to be happy once this was over.</p><p>“I’m okay!” Mayday replied. “A little sore from hitting the ground, but I’m still moving!” </p><p>Zuke sighed in relief. He’d prefer them to be together, almost getting Deja vu from a similar fight they had in the gallery before, but at least they were both alright. He turned to face the stage to go after Marinette, but was met with only the stage and its cheap decorations - no Marinette in sight. Dammit. They couldn’t get out of this mess without beating her. Zuke looked around the area they had been sealed in, treading carefully around the floor as to not slip. </p><p>“Look, Over there.” Eve spoke up. Zuke turned to see her pointing past him. He followed her finger to look down a corridor he hadn’t seen before, one that was nothing like the gallery itself. It was almost like a village landscape, complete with a castle in the distance, houses with thatched roofs and wooden builds, and dirt paths sprinkled with snow that winded down to a forest of sorts. Upon closer look, it was clear that these were backdrops and props too, but much more eloquently designed than the ones on the stage. </p><p>“I think we only have one option here.” Zuke stated as he turned back to Eve. “She probably wants us to follow her.”</p><p>Eve walked over to join him, brushing herself off. “You realise this is a trap, do you not? We’re only giving her wants she wants.”</p><p>Zuke put his drumsticks in his back pocket. “We’ve gotta get to Marinette somehow. This is the only way forward for us.”</p><p>Eve sighed. “Very well.” She gestured with her arm towards the winter-scape. “After you, Zuke.”</p><p>----------------------------------------------------------</p><p>“Of course I ended up by myself. It’s not like I’m the one that’s got more bruises or anything!”</p><p>Mayday was pacing back and forth, a mixture of stress and thought. She had seen through the ice the blurry forms of Eve and Zuke walk off from her and disappear, leaving her alone by the stage. That was fine and all, but considering Marinette didn’t appear to be anywhere near her, she was stumped as to what to do. </p><p>Her solution came promptly afterwards though. Mayday watched as the Ice wall that once separated them melted, pooling on the floor as a puddle of its former self. This would have been helpful to her had the corridor Eve and Zuke walked down not disappeared, rendering any idea of getting to them obsolete. The entrance to the room however was now open for her to go through, its contents baring no resemblance to what they had originally known that section of the gallery as. It looked a winter landscape of some kind: ponds with sheets of Ice laying on top, trees tipped with frost shining mildew, and large expanses of ground decorated with blankets of pure white snow. </p><p>Mayday rubbed her temple. “I’m going to have to go in there, aren’t I?”</p><p>With a sigh, she approached the newly decorated corridor, placing her guitar on her back but keeping her hand on its neck. The second she stepped past the threshold, a sudden burst of cold sent shivers up her spine and made her hairs stand on end, causing May to wrap herself up in her arms. Her clothes weren’t exactly made for the cold weather - the worst weather they would get in Vinyl City was typhoons – and it was only made worse by the slippery floor underfoot. </p><p>“Come on lah. Why did you give the person with vest top the cold area?” She asked, rubbing her arms as she watched her breathe drift from her mouth. She could hear the snow crunch under her feet as she made her way through the scene. She proceeded with caution and curiosity. This wasn’t like anyone Mayday had fought before. When Marinette pulled out the sabre, she had expected just a typical duel, but here she was separated from Zuke and Eve and getting pneumonia. Her bruise was starting to sting from the cold as well, her muscle tightening to keep herself warm. As if this couldn’t get any worse.</p><p>“Hello there, little bird!”</p><p>Mayday jumped, startled by the voice. She quickly pulled out her guitar from her back and held it at the ready, turning to look behind her to see Marinette poised gracefully, her sabre at her side. </p><p>And the way back closed off.</p><p>Marinette hopped backwards at the threatening weapon pointed at her. “My, the little bird shows anger!”</p><p>“Of course I do!” Mayday exclaimed. “You singled me out! What have you done with them? Where are they?” She paused, frowning. “Wait, what are you going to do to me?”</p><p>The doll giggled softly, made creepier by the lack of mouth movement. “You’re not on stage yet little bird.” She paused. “Although…” She raised her leg to pose, her hand drifting to point to the ceiling. “The hunt has already begun. May you put on a dazzling performance!”</p><p>Mayday raised an eyebrow. “Performance?” She blanked, dropping her guard. “Wait, HUNT?!”</p><p>An icicle fell to the side of Mayday, piercing the floor. Then another. And another. It was only when Mayday raised her head to look up that she saw the barrage of icicles on the ceiling, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, and reappearing at that. The moment she noticed, they started to come down rapid fire, like a hailstorm on a blustery day. When one drifted past her arm and left a cut, it was then she decided that she should probably get to moving, or risk becoming a frozen kebab.</p><p>Mayday began to run, leaving Marinette far behind her in a desperate attempt to escape the onslaught of icicles falling from the sky. She was very thankful for her bare feet in that moment since, while unpleasant to touch the cold snow and ice with them, they proved very efficient for ensuring she wasn’t going to slip. She thought that if she did slip, that would probably be the last time she would be alive. It didn’t seem like the icicles were going to stop anytime soon, nor the winter scenery for that matter. </p><p>“Oh, there! there! Gotta get going, Mayday!” She told herself as she saw a possible escape method. Far away from her now she could see a large tree, complete with thick brush and teeming with white leaves. If the icicles were coming from the ceiling, surely the tree would cover her from them… maybe?</p><p>She had to take her chances anyway; she was already getting tired and wasn’t sure she could keep this up for much longer. With a last remaining burst of everything that was left in her, Mayday began to sprint. Her legs were tired, and her body twinged with pain – but at least she wasn’t cold anymore. </p><p>Her breathe was ragged and hoarse as she approached the tree. She could hear the sound of shattering icicles behind her, their collision with the floor ringing off the walls and making an ear-splitting noise. It encouraged her to move though; fear of what would happen otherwise skipping through her head. With a final stretch and a lunge forward, her fingers touched the bark as her body practically collapsed from exhaustion. She paused for a moment, then, seeing no icicles coming at her, she relaxed, leaning herself against the tree.</p><p>“Man, this sucks.” She let out a breath and pouted. “I bet Zuke and Eve don’t have it as bad…” She placed her back against the trunk and slid down, sitting herself against the snow. “Though maybe that’s what Zuke wants Mr, ‘I think Eve is more innocent than you’.” She sighed, flicking her pigtails around her finger. “At least I can relax for a bit.” </p><p>Complacent with her safety, Mayday placed her head against the tree. The position she was in allowed her to see up through the leaves and branches which seemed to gleam with brilliant white. She would almost think it was beautiful were she not in the position she was currently in. It made her think of the winters she had experienced with Zuke before... Seeing Vinyl City in the rare chances it had snow…</p><p>She shook herself out of her thoughts. Stay in the moment, Mayday. You are up against a wooden ballerina doll thing. Gotta focus. </p><p>Then she heard hisses coming from nearby.</p><p>She got to her feet, back pushed firmly against the trunk as she presented her guitar in front. She looked around her, turning her head left, then right. Nothing there. Strange. She closed her eyes, hoping to hear where the hissing was coming from.</p><p>A hiss above her.</p><p>She twisted her neck to look upwards, lifting her guitar with her. There! Through the white - several pairs of brown dots peering down at her as she looked up at them.  The hissing grew louder and more like a chorus the longer they exchanged looks. It was only when Mayday saw that the white was feathery and resembling a rather similar shape to wings that a sense of dread washed over her. She knew exactly what was above her.</p><p>“Uh oh.”</p><p>A swarm of swans came tumbling from the tree, honky and hisses loudly and harshly. Mayday had already pushed herself off the tree in panic as the flock came down behind her, setting off into another exhausted sprint through the snowy expanse.</p><p>“Why can’t it be my scene yet!?”</p><p>-------------------------------------- </p><p>Things were much calmer in the village. Obviously, it wasn’t a real village, just beautifully decorated backdrops and scenery, but the way it was drawn, the ways things were shaped – it all felt very real. The snow beneath them was very real anyway, the crunches coming from under their feet and their unstable footing showing that not everything was materialistic. Either way, it was almost relaxing to walk through the area around them.</p><p>“I don’t like this one bit.” Said Eve, eyeing up the props and decorations around them. </p><p>Zuke nodded in agreement. “This is all… very tame. We haven’t been attacked yet. With the other artists it was chatting for a bit and then straight into battle.” He kicked the snow, a burst of white fluff rising then falling from the tip of his shoe. “Other than that ice wall, nothing has happened.”</p><p>Eve laughed a little. “What a funny thing to say – wanting to be attacked.” She sighed. “Although I suppose I do understand where you’re coming from. I’d much prefer to be able to see a clear objective from this ballerina.” She pointed to the backdrops. “All of this is lovely, but not even I can sense for what purpose this is for, along with splitting us up from Mayday.”</p><p>“I wonder if she’s doing alright.” Zuke said with a frown, dropping his head.</p><p>“Oh yes, you’ve recently been at odds with her.” Eve stated. “Did you manage to sort your lover’s quarrel or is that still an ongoing plot point?”</p><p>Zuke rubbed the back of his head. “I mean, I apologised for the things I said, but she didn’t accept it. I do get that though.” He groaned. “I was such an ass to her, and I didn’t even realise it. This whole Estallia thing has really been playing on my nerves.”</p><p>Eve smiled, moving to stand in the way of Zuke and block his path. She placed a hand on his arm. “Hence why I call it a Lover’s quarrel. There is clearly an undertone of something more between the two of you, yet you’re both so thick as to properly see it.”</p><p>Zuke’s frown was back, this time directed at Eve. “There is nothing between Mayday and I, no matter how much people want there to be. We’re buddies, okay? We’re bandmates, friends, comrades, kawan; nothing else.” He turned his back on Eve. “We just had a little hiccup, that’s all.”</p><p>Eve sighed. “Because ‘just friends’ start an argument over someone’s safety and wellbeing.”</p><p>Zuke pointed a finger at Eve. “Hey, now listen-“</p><p>“How perfect! May this battle be extraordinary!”</p><p>Eve and Zuke came to attention, Zuke pulling out his drumsticks and Eve making another set of arms appear on either side of her body. Marinette stood in front of them in a swan like position, her hand raised and held. It felt like she was looking at them with a joyous expression, her body open and inviting. “The prince and the black dove are harmonious with each other! This story shall unfold as gracefully as it was made!”</p><p>Eve and Zuke exchange a look of confusion, before Eve chimed in with, “We are not some characters for you to use at your will! You can’t write your own fantasies using us, we won’t allow it!”</p><p>Marinette tilted her head. “Write my own fantasies? No no! The story is already written! I am only assisting in its unfolding!” She settled her body down into a relaxed position with her feet out turned. “But perhaps an accompanying piece shall help move our dancers forward – allow things to take shape.” She bowed, taking her sabre from her hilt. “I can most certainly apply my help with that.” </p><p>The two of them watched as Marinette raised her sabre above her head and then stop still. There was a beat of nothing for a moment as Eve and Zuke stared waiting for something to happen, but nothing seemed to. Only the sound of ballet music filled the gap between them as they both stood prepared for an attack.</p><p>“Umm, was something supposed to-”</p><p>But there it was, the sound of squeaks and shuffling, so loud it shrouded the music. It was only moments later when they would see what it was, for a large mischief of mice came crawling down from the ceiling in masses, each and everyone one of them headed straight for Eve.</p><p>The diva reeled back at the sight of them, bringing out more arms to raise her chance of defence. But that was when Marinette bought her sabre down and jabbed it at the floor. From its tip trailed a flow of ice that reached Eve within seconds, wrapping up one of her legs and exploding as it met her torso. It was as she tried to raise her many arms again that she realised that she couldn’t, for her upper body was trapped in an ice block-like prison, and no matter how hard she tried to force them out – to break free from her confinement – it was of no use. </p><p>“Umm, Zuke?”</p><p>The drummer looked from the mice to see what had happened to Eve, his face falling upon seeing her incarcerated. Thinking quick on his feet, Zuke raised his drumsticks above his head to make his drums appear. With a cry of, “Eve, run!” he slammed his sticks down onto the drum’s faces and sent a burst of musical energy out, pushing back the mice and giving himself and Eve time to escape – or at least time to think of another plan.</p><p>Zuke turned to follow Eve the moment his sticks had collided, sprinting for his life after the diva, who was somewhat struggling to move at a decent pace with her arms trapped. “Zuke, I’m not sure we can get out of this!” Eve cried as they ran down the snowy path towards the forest backdrop in the distance. “I’m only slowing you down like this, go! Get out of this yourself!”</p><p>Zuke shook his head as they ran. “No! That’s ridiculous!” He replied.</p><p>“You have no other choice!” She exclaimed. “I’m a hinderance to you!” </p><p>“I’m not just going to leave you, Eve!” Zuke turned to smash his drums one more time, but the bursts seemed like they were barely doing anything now as the mice kept filing in. “Even if I left you in other ways, I never left you as a friend. Even if you complete yourself, that doesn’t mean you can’t have others by your side. I’m not just going to abandon you, even if we don’t see eye to eye anymore.”</p><p>Eve was taken back from his words, but they really didn’t have the time to be sentimental when they were being chased by a hoard of mice that didn’t seem all too friendly. By now the scenery for them had changed to the wintery forest setting, accompanied by frozen over lakes and frosted trees. Whether the lakes were props or not, it gave Eve an idea, shouting back to Zuke, “This way!” and hurrying over to one of the frozen lakes, the drummer in question promptly following suite.</p><p>Once they arrived at the lake, Zuke watched Eve cautiously step on it, placing her heel on its surface to test the tension, before making her way onto it. She motioned for Zuke to join her, which he did with the same air of caution. The two of them hurried over as fast as they could to the other side and stopped, turning around to see the mice catching up to them fast. Already understanding the plan, Zuke pulled out his drumsticks and made his drums materialise. He lifted them up ready to strike, waiting for the perfect moment. They both watched as the mice scurried from the snow and onto the ice, gaining ground on their position.</p><p>Closer…</p><p>Just a little closer…</p><p>There!</p><p>As the mice were mere inches from them, Zuke did the same burst of energy from before, hitting his drums with great force. The energy flowed outwards and pushed the mice back, causing them to fall into a heaped pile on the ice – just what they wanted. The sound of cracking as the ice began to split only made them more confident, seeing the crack grow and grow from the weight of the abundance of mice. With one final raise of his drumsticks, Zuke pummelled a final blow at the lake, tearing the ice apart and sending the mischief of mice down into its frozen waters.</p><p>Peace once again. The artists breathed a sigh of relief, albeit Eve still frustrated at her confined arms. They were at least out of the rat trap, so to speak, which meant they were safe for now. It was only a matter of time until Marinette would show up again to so called ‘advance the story’.</p><p>“Zuke.” Eve spoke up. “Thank you, for what you said.” She laughed softly. “I couldn’t really thank you back there. It’s just… I just thought that…” She dropped her eyes, refusing to look at him. “I had assumed after our talk when you first hijacked my gallery that you had moved on. Not just from our past, but from me in general.”</p><p>Zuke shook his head. “Completing yourself doesn’t mean you have to be completely alone. Even if people like me can’t be at your level, that doesn’t mean that we don’t support you.” He went to place a hand on her shoulder, but laughed a little as his hand met the ice coverings. “Even if my way of supporting you isn’t like how we first met, that doesn’t mean I’m not here for you.”</p><p>Eve’s heart warmed, a smile softly drifting across her lips. The hijacking encounter had left her head spinning with questions to herself mixed in with a sense of guilt and blame. She had thought that was it for her, that it would just be her in her own world; she was the only one to understand her world after all. But… she supposed that people didn’t have to understand her world in order to be by her side. She could complete herself, and have others nearby that could help mend the broken pieces when it was needed.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“AHHHHHHHHHHH! WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE SWANS?!”</p><p>Zuke and Eve were quickly bought out of their moment, the screams of Mayday reverberating even louder than the ballet music as she ran into the scene, her arms failing as a rather angry collection of swans were chasing her. As she approached them at rapid speed, it was then that Marinette appeared behind Mayday. The doll took her sabre in her hands, and with grace and poise, tapped the ground in front of the swans, sealing them in an intricate carved pillar of ice. Mayday, upon realisation the swans were gone (after screaming for a little while longer), froze in place, staring in confusion, but gratitude at the ballerina.</p><p>Marinette turned to them and bowed, her leg sliding down to lie flat on the ground. Mayday started clapping, but promptly stopped as she saw the looks disappointment of Eve and Zuke from across the expanse, slipping her hands to her sides in complacency. </p><p>The doll rose to her tip toes, placing her sabre on her hilt. “The stage is set! The characters are here! How exciting! Let the battle commence!”</p><p>The artists looked to each other, then back to Marinette, who hadn’t moved an inch. Mayday was the first to speak, saying, “Um, battle? But… You just put your sword thingy away?”</p><p>“No no no, silly little dove!” She shifted position to point at the two groups; one hand trained on Mayday, the other on Eve. “This is your big scene! This your time to perform! The battle for the ages!”</p><p>Eve and Mayday looked at each other from their positions at either side of the snowy setting. Eve shook her head. “Again, we are not your characters, nor are we your actors. Why on earth would I fight with Mayday? What part of your story has established the meaning behind that?”</p><p>Marinette seamed to jerk in her stance from Eve’s words, leading to a little giggle from her. “You have a history with the prince, do you not?” She asked, gesturing to Zuke. She continued. “And yet your prince is with this new dove instead of yourself. Would you not fight for your prince?” Her head twitched. “That is always how the story is told. That’s how it’s always been.”</p><p>Zuke blushed, but answered, “Well, yeah… we have a history, but it’s exactly that: history. We don’t have anything between us anymore.”</p><p>The doll jerked harder.</p><p>“Yeah! Not to mention,” Mayday chimed in, “I have no reason to fight her; Zuke and I are buddies… for the most part… And if you see the way he treats the hideout, you’ll know he is anything but a prince.”</p><p>A twitch.</p><p>Eve rolled her eyes. “So, now you see that we have no intention to fight each other, would you mind freeing me and giving my district back? Then you can go wherever you want to for your performances.”</p><p>Marinette was silent and unmoving. The lack of facial features only added to the unsettling nature of her pose as they waited for a reaction from her. It was after a brief moment that she began to move again, twitch and jerking about, no longer gracefully in her movements. She finally steadied herself in a standing position, her face looking directly at the artists.</p><p>“Very well then.” Marinette spoke, her voice dead and flat. “I see we have instead a dove, a prince and the prince’s friend. Very well then.” She placed her hand to the handle of her sabre. “If we are missing a bird…” Marinette took out her weapon, and took a step…</p><p>Then appeared in front of Zuke, her weapon piercing his side.</p><p>“Then I shall have to be the owl.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As you probably guessed, Marinette's music is ballet! Some of the artists here might not be right, so do tell me if so:<br/>-Amilcare Ponchelli - Dance of the Hours<br/>-PytorIllych Tchaikovsky - Dance of the Mirilitons<br/>-Mintus - La Bayadere (Gamzath's variation)</p><p>You may be getting more music next week! *wink*</p><p>Following with the Dreamfever curse (Eve took the longest for the devs to make), Marinette is honestly the hardest character I've ever written. I did hours of research into ballet and themes. I watched Swan Lake at 1am. Please give her some love because I certainly am not sure I can love her any more. There were so many ideas cut from her story, as well as so many changes to her as an artist. All the way back from vs. LP I had her music down, I just had nothing of substance to make her character.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. vs. Marinette (Act 2)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Finally, Marinette is finished. <br/>I personally am not pleased with this chapter, but you get lots of information and stuff which is cool!<br/>Please remember to comment! I love hearing your thoughts and feelings, and even something like AHHHHHHH brings me great joy!</p><p>Anyway,<br/>BATTLE HYPE!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“ZUKE!”</p><p>Mayday was running in an instant, her feet pounding through the snow around the lake to reach him. She had already reached for her guitar on her back with an iron grip, a mixture of anger and sorrow spurring her movements. She watched Eve standing there in shock as she tried to break the ice prison around her body, the diva practically hopeless in her state. And then May looked to Marinette whose emotionless face only made the sabre’s impact that much more sinister, as if Zuke’s horrified face didn’t make the situation bad enough.</p><p>Marinette pulled the sabre from Zuke just as Eve had given up on breaking out and was charging towards the doll with the intent to throw herself on Marinette. Just as Eve was about to make contact, Marinette was gone again, seemingly disappearing from view. Eve stopped her assault, instead turning to Zuke who had landed with a soft thud on the blanket of snow on the ground. He was groaning in pain, clutching his wound with his hand and hissing through his teeth. Eve had dropped to her knees next to him, frustrated at the inability to hold him.</p><p>“Zuke, don’t move… you’ll only make it worse…” Eve ushered, checking him over to see if anywhere else was damaged.</p><p>The drummer groaned. “Easier said than done…” He tilted his head back and gritted his teeth. “It doesn’t hurt too bad now, but I can imagine once the adrenaline runs out…”</p><p>“Then don’t do anything to make it worse.” Eve responded. “We need to get you to safety, before Marinette comes back.”</p><p>Mayday was near now, finishing off the second half of the lake. She could barely hear their voices as the two of them were sat together. This whole thing made her have an itchy trigger finger… or well, hand, the desire to swing her guitar right in Marinette’s face and sending her wooden parts crumbling to pieces pinging through her mind. It was as she neared the two of them that she felt something was off. </p><p>She stopped in her tracks, pausing to look around with her guitar presented and ready. It appeared that the weather in the room had picked up now, a snowstorm of sorts swirling around them. Again, something felt off – about the snowstorm and things in general. Risking it, she closed her eyes, opening her ears up to the world around her. Maybe she could here where Marinette was or hear anything that might help them through this battle. Only….</p><p>There wasn’t any sound. Not even the ballet music.</p><p>Mayday opened her eyes, and spun on her heels to face behind her, her guitar colliding with Marinette’s sabre as the doll thrusted to attack her. May pushed her guitar upwards to move the doll’s weapon away, then shifted her weight to swing her guitar to hit Marinette’s side, moving it like an axe. It was blocked with a sabre though, the contact forcing Mayday to step back from the fight to gather her bearings.</p><p>Marinette tilted her head to the side, rigidly moving her body so she was standing in a readied position. She spoke in a dead voice, emotion lacking from her words. “The prince has been dealt with, yet the white dove still lives. And even with help from the Lord, she fights back.” She bought the handle of her sabre to her chest, its tip pointing at Mayday. “Why do you fight, little bird? You’re supposed to go down with your prince.”</p><p>May pointed her guitar back at her, the tip of the body in line with the sabre. “You think this bird is just gonna let you get away with stabbing my friend? Not likely.” She steeled her face. “You say I’m a dove, but personally…” She raised her guitar over her head. “I prefer an eagle.” </p><p>With the words, Mayday flung her guitar at Marinette, the weapon flying through the air towards her. It caught Marinette off guard, the doll expecting a hand-to-hand fight, and it hit the doll dead centre, causing her to fall to the ground and drop her weapon. Mayday took the opportunity to run, catching her guitar as it came back into her hand, and sprinting towards Eve and Zuke. She caught up to them quickly, sliding down to the ground the moment she got there and placing her hands on Zuke’s back to prop him up.</p><p>“Hey buddy, you good?” </p><p>Zuke looked to his stomach and lifted his hand to reveal a small spread of blood across his shirt. “Well, I don’t know about you May, but this doesn’t seem like me being good.” He said, sarcasm in his voice.</p><p>Mayday laughed, the awkwardness between them gone. “Yeah yeah, I probably should have thought about that before I said it.” She looked to Marinette, who was steadily getting to her feet. “Come on,” she said, placing his arm behind her neck and attempting to hoist him up. “We gotta get you safe. Eve and I can deal with Marinette.”</p><p>Zuke groaned as he was lifted to his feet. “I think we need to get to safety in general, May. I don’t want either of you to be stabbed too.”</p><p>Eve scoffed, flipping her hair out of her face. “Do you really doubt us that much?” She smiled softly at him. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of ourselves. We’re fighting in our home ground, after all.”</p><p>Mayday carried Zuke over to a tree and placed him down, his back resting against the trunk. She pulled his drumsticks out of his pocket and handed them to him, commanding, “If Marinette comes near you, defend yourself, okay?” She pulled her guitar from her back and looked to Marinette, who was brushing the snow out of her joints. “We might not be close enough to you if she comes after you.”</p><p>“Right.” Zuke sighed. “Just, promise me you’ll both be okay, please?”</p><p>Eve and Mayday exchanged a look, before May nodded to him with a smile. “You got it.” </p><p>The girls left Zuke to himself, turning their attention back to Marinette, only to find that she had disappeared again. They scouted the area, looking around the snowy expanse in any hope of getting a hint to her whereabouts but, to no avail. The snowstorm made it difficult to really see anything now it had picked up, which only assisted the ballerina in her hiding. </p><p>“I think she’s trying to get me next.” Stated Mayday. “She mentioned about the prince being dealt with, but the white dove blah blah – story stuff.”</p><p>Eve hummed in thought. “Unfortunate that only you will be able to defend yourself then.” She nodded down to the ice cocoon. “Perhaps we can figure out how to free me first. That would assist us both in dealing with Marinette.”</p><p>Mayday poked a finger at the ice, to which nothing happened. Of course for Mayday that naturally resulted in her going to swing her guitar at Eve, the diva in question blanching at the motion and crying, “Wait wait! You can’t just hit me!” Eve’s alarm made Mayday stop mid swing, looking to the fashionista with a pout. “Why not? Do you have a better idea?”</p><p>Eve sighed. “No, but I’m sure you’ll break a few bones trying to shatter a solid object that’s around a person’s body.” She rolled her eyes. “Brute force isn’t always the answer. I think to deal with Marinette we need to be cunning, starting with getting me out of this thing.”</p><p>With a nod of confirmation from Mayday, the two set off into the snowy setting, searching for Marinette in an effort to find her to continue their fight – or hoping that she would find them.</p><p>--------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>They must have walked for minutes by now down the wintery backdropped corridors. It seemed now the way back to the town setting was cut off, only the Ice and snow being available to them. That fact was frustrating to the both of them since neither was really prepared for the cold weather; Eve especially with the ice block making her that much colder. They had talked some more about Eve’s situation as they walked, brain storming ideas that might work. Mayday had suggested using fire, but that was quickly dismissed by Eve who stated, “Fire will either take too long, or cause me to burst into flames – and I don’t fancy being set ablaze thank you very much.” </p><p>They had eventually reached the tree Mayday had hid under earlier, the swans from before gone much to Mayday’s delight. They paused for a break nearby to collect themselves and observe the surrounding area for anything that could be of use, the only somewhat useful thing being the shattered icicles on the ground. Mayday had tried to use one to one to shatter the ice around Eve, but only ended up breaking the icicle itself.</p><p>Mayday chucked the broken pieces onto the ground. “Okay, can we agree if all else fails that I can just hit you with my guitar?”</p><p>“Mayday, no.” Eve deadpanned. “You should have seen the bruises on me when you first hijacked my gallery. I don’t want to know the damage it would do combined with this thing.”</p><p>The guitarist blew a raspberry, twirling a braid around her finger. “Fine.” She sulked. She turned to stare at the scenery, squinting in hopes of seeing Marinette somewhere. “It’s weird. She seemed really hostile earlier on. I wonder why she’s stopped.”</p><p>Eve caught something out of the corner of her eye and looked to it, nodding her head in the direction and saying, “Perhaps that is why she stopped.”</p><p>Mayday looked to Eve then followed the direction of her head. She was surprised she hadn’t seen it earlier; it wasn’t hard to miss. At the end of the corridor standing tall and proud with a background of misty fog and the peaks of mountains stood a castle made of ice with towering spires and a shimmering base. Judging by the sheer size of it, it was situated in one of the more open rooms of the gallery, the corridor acting as an urging passage to reach its doors.</p><p>“You think that’s where she is?” Asked Mayday. It earnt an eyeroll from Eve, who began to walk towards the palace, promptly followed by Mayday.</p><p>“I do have to say though,” Eve spoke up as they approached. “All of this is very elaborate considering the quality of her art we saw before.” She nodded. “We know she has ice powers, that much is clear. But what about everything else? What about the backdrops and the shifting corridors?”</p><p>Mayday hummed in thought. “That and the silence she caused around me. Normally powers have a specific focus that they’re built around. With the ones you’ve said as well, that’s like…” She stopped, bringing up her hands to quickly count on her fingers. “That’s like 5 powers in one! That’s impossible!”</p><p>“Unless there’s someone we’re not seeing.” Eve stated. “She’s a doll, after all. A puppet. While Marinette might be able to control Ice and the music, there must be someone else who can control the settings and shifting corridors.”</p><p>“And the silence?” Mayday asked. “I know it wasn’t just my ears. It was like all the sound just faded away around me.”</p><p>“That I’m uncertain. It doesn’t seem to fit with the rest. Perhaps beating her will give us answers” She came to a stop in front of the doors. “We’re here.”</p><p>After hyping herself up, Mayday opened the doors with caution, keeping it open so the diva could follow. The hard thud as it closed behind them rang out through the wide-open ballroom, pinging off the solid ice walls with a hum. If Marinette hadn’t expected them before, she definitely did now their presence was known.</p><p>Ready for her scene, Marinette stepped out from the shadows. She looked different from before, her hair falling to her shoulders and her tutu in tatters. She still contained a regal demeanour though, emerging on the tips of her toes with her arms wide, sabre in hand. She locked eyes with Mayday and Eve, and proceeded to bow, significantly messier and less graceful than before. “It looks as if the two doves have come to my castle.” A twitch. “That was not how the story was s-s-s-supposed to go, but it’s perfectly okay!” She stood up straight and shifted her body. “I merely had to change the story a little to fit! Yes! For I could take the role that was meant for one of you!”</p><p>Mayday frowned, pulling her guitar into her hands. “You don’t have to be the villain, Marinette. Just give us this district and you can go back to being your prima ballerina self.”</p><p>The doll tilted her head, practically snapping it off. “And leave the performance incomplete? No no! I cannot do that!” She pointed her sabre at the two of them and lowered herself, speaking in an unnatural deep and warped voice. “We’re finishing this story even if it means we all die in the end.”</p><p>In an instant, Marinette thrusted forward with her weapon, the tip rushing towards Mayday’s head. Mayday ducked as it approached, the sabre barely scrapping the tips of her bunches and she fell to the ground. Eve had already set off running across the room in search of something to help, which left Mayday alone with the doll who had already pulled out her sword from the ice and was about to plunge it down at the guitarist. </p><p>Thinking fast on her feet, Mayday kicked forward towards Marinette’s legs, attempting to knock the ballerina to the ground. It was a success, Marinette stumbling forwards, unstable, but Mayday’s joy quickly fell to panic as the sabre came down too. Mayday blanched, barely rolling out the way of the sabre’s tip as the doll came tumbling down. She promptly got to her feet and sprinted, heading straight to Eve on the other side of the room. The diva was busy crashing herself into the icy walls, attempting to break her prison.</p><p>“Are you sure you don’t want me to just hit you?” Mayday asked, aligning her fingers on her guitar. “Either way it’s going to shatter!”</p><p>Eve went to crash again into the wall, only to stop from Mayday’s words. “Shatter?” She repeated, an inflection in her voice. A smile spread on her face as she looked to Mayday. “That’s it!” Eve shuffled her way to stand behind Mayday, readying herself in an open stance. She saw May’s blank expression and instructed her with, “Jump out the way at the last second.” In response, the guitarist looked at her with wide eyes. Eve spoke softly, but certain. “Trust me, Mayday.”</p><p>Mayday faltered for a moment. Eve wasn’t exactly her best friend, nor had they spent too much time together besides for a couple of costumes she had requested for B2J’s concerts.  But… she did trust her. Especially right now when it was the two of them against the enemy. They weren’t just fighting to get the district back – they were fighting for their friend; they were fighting for Zuke.</p><p>Marinette whipped her head to face them, dragging herself up using the wall as her sabre scratched a line in the ice. She flipped her whole body around to them with her head stationary, then bought up her sword for another piercing attack. She lunged for the two of them, cold air kicking up behind her as she accelerated towards them at rapid speed. She was in front of Mayday within seconds, signalling to May it was time to move – She had to trust Eve.</p><p>Just as the sabre was going to pierce her, Mayday flung herself to the side, dodge rolling through the action to reach her feet once again. Just as anticipated, Marinette kept on going, heading right for Eve who had closed her eyes in both fear and hope. It was when a satisfying shattering sound rung throughout the ballroom that Eve knew the result, opening her eyes to see Marinette stumbling backwards from the impact and, much to her delight, a long crack splitting the centre of the ice. Perfect.<br/>“No!” cried Marinette as she regained her balance. The ballerina hurriedly raised her sword to strike again, pushing forward on her feet to engage with the diva, but her action was met with Mayday’s guitar in defence, blocking Marinette from her attack. The doll growled, shifting her arms to attack the guitarist low on her body, but Mayday blocked that too, parrying Marinette and causing her to falter. Seeing the opportunity, May swung her guitar, hitting the doll directly in the chest and flinging her into the side wall with all her strength. Marinette collided with the icy wall with force, the structure around her cracking from the impact and slowly creeping upwards till it reached the ceiling. The sound of metal rattled through the space as the sabre fell to the ground, shaking like a coin till it settled.</p><p>Seeing Marinette disarmed, Mayday turned her attention to Eve. The fashionista in question was already forcing her way out, the crack in the ice slowly but surely expanding as Eve pushed her arms outwards. It was when May shouted, “Use all your arms, Eve!” that she felt a rush of power flow into her. She did just that, starting the arms out as just the hands and using all her strength to push the ice with every palm. It was painful. It was taking all her energy to do it. But finally, after a grunt of frustration and Eve channelling all her anger, the sheer force from her hands pushed her free from her prison. The Ice falling to the ground and breaking into thousands of tiny pieces was a sight Eve was more than happy to behold.</p><p>Eve stretched her arms out with confidence, testing each one’s ability to move. She had never felt more alive than now, and after hearing the resounding sound of Marinette struggling to get up, she turned to face the ballerina was a newfound sense of accomplishment. “It seems that you have someone new to contend with now, Marinette.” Eve chimed, clenching her hands into fists.</p><p>The ballerina stumbled to a stand. They could see now that one of her joints had come loose and her arm was drooping sadly from it. Marinette was nothing like they knew her before – who once started out as an elegant and graceful performer, now stood before the two girls a mere shadow of what her former self was. This Marinette was unstable and shaky, clutching her arm in a resemblance of pain as she stared back at the artists with a smudged painted face.</p><p>“This wasn’t h-h-h-how it was supposed to go…” The ballerina choked out. She bent down to pick up her sabre, returning to a somewhat fighting stance. “I’m not made for b-b-b-battle, but I must fight. Otherwise… my toys will b-break and then I can’t play with them anymore.” </p><p>Marinette shuffled towards them, still very much at great speed, but she was far easier for Mayday to counter now, the guitarist easily blocking and guarding her attacks. When she went high, Mayday went high then countered low; when she went low, Mayday went low then countered high. It was clear who the winning side of the battle was at this point, with Marinette becoming ever more beaten and slower with each hit. It was like she was losing power somehow, becoming weaker in her movements. They were sure to win at this rate.</p><p>And then a loud crack broke their concentration.</p><p>The three artists paused and looked up in synchronisation to see the earlier split Ice growing ever further apart. It was spreading up and around the castle now, ripping through the foundations of the Ice. The ground began to shake underneath them as the crack grew to its largest, almost like an Iceberg splitting in two and causing an almighty racket that clawed at their ears. It seemed like the castle was coming down – and fast.</p><p>“Mayday, over here!” </p><p>May looked to see Eve beckoning to her which the girl had no issue in following that instruction. As she approached Eve, she felt one of the diva’s arms wrap around her and pull her close, much to Mayday’s surprise. After a beat and the shaking increasing tremendously, she was greeted to a large pink hand appearing over the both of them, arching over them like an umbrella as Eve crouched down with her. </p><p>An almighty earthquake erupted around them, pieces and spears of Ice toppling down to the floor as they slid off the large hand with ease. They could see from under their cover the sheer quantity of Ice that had made up the magnificent construction all crumbling in an instant. They could especially see Marinette, who was making as best an attempt to protect herself, slashing away at any solid rocks that came her way. She eventually had to resort to building an Ice cocoon around herself, but even from a distance they could tell its build was flimsy – practically sheet ice which wasn’t going to protect her at all.</p><p>The remainder of the castle came tumbling down all at once, enormous thuds erupting out as the large chunks of ice collapsed. By the time the shaking had stopped, and Eve had moved the hand out of the way to see the damage, they were practically buried by piles upon piles of ice. The castle was nowhere, crushed to pieces to reveal they were back in the room they started in, the shoddy and crudely drawn stage and backdrops soaking wet for the icy onslaught. </p><p>Eve used her large hand to scoop the two of them out, placing them gently onto solid ground. Once safe, Mayday began to look around, placing a hand over her eyes. “Where’s Marinette gone?” She asked, tempting Eve to join in with her search. Was she buried under the ice perhaps? Or had she disappeared again like before?</p><p>“There!” Eve cried, pointing with one side of arms in the direction of the corridor they had first arrived in. Marinette was making her escape down it, her legs wobbly and unstable as she was running. But there was something else now, for above her head was what appeared to be thin golden strings that seemingly started from no where and reached down to her limbs. They were certain they had never seen that before, but if that was how she was working, they were more than happy to help cut any loose ends.</p><p>The two of them exchange looks and nodded; they were on the same page. As assistance, Eve made a hand appear below Mayday, the latter standing in the palm of the hand ready with her guitar outstretched. Eve made the hand tilt backwards a little, rearing up like a pitcher would in a sports game, with Mayday beaming from ear to ear in excitement from the eventual outcome. Marinette was getting further and further away now, so they couldn’t wait any longer. They exchanged one last glance between them, signalling to one another they were more than ready to finish this off. </p><p>“I believe you have something to say instead of a countdown?” Eve asked with a smile. Mayday grinned back, replying, “How about we do it together?”</p><p>“Bunka!”</p><p>“Junka!”</p><p>“Shakalaka!”</p><p>The hand released its coiled-up tension, sending Mayday hurling through the air and down the corridor at Marinette.</p><p>“BAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMM!”</p><p>Mayday screamed the finale as she flew at the ballerina, her guitar poised in her hands ready to finish this whole situation off. She was getting closer, and closer, and closer, until she was right on top of those golden strings. With a mighty swing of her weapon, she snapped the strings like twigs, the golden threads falling softly to the ground around Marinette. Mayday eventually made contact with the ground herself in a significantly less gracefully manner than the strings did, landing in a messy pile on the floor next to an exhibit.</p><p>Marinette stopped rigid. She was unmoving for a moment, completely immobile with neither a ballet pose or a body twitch. She was like another art piece in the gallery, a statue for all to watch.</p><p>And then she fell to the floor, like a ragdoll with the life drained out of her.</p><p>A silence fell over the room for a while, before Eve and Mayday met in the centre at Marinette’s body, the two of them breathing a sigh of exhaustion and relief. Mayday knelt down next to the doll and lifted her arm, then let go of it and watched as it fell to the floor. She wasn’t really even Marinette anymore now, she was just the bare minimum – a doll.</p><p>“So those strings were whoever was controlling her.” Concluded Eve. “Our hunch about there being more than one centre of power was right.”</p><p>Mayday pouted and scratched the back of her head. “Yeah, but we didn’t get any information about the silence thing. Not to mention and I didn’t want to essentially kill her… I just wanted to get your district back.” She looked over Marinette once more, smoothing down her tutu and slotting her joint back in place.</p><p>“Well…” Eve uttered. She had Marinette to thank in a way. She wouldn’t have gotten the chance to work with Mayday as close as they did, nor would she have been in that situation with Zuke before. “Perhaps I might be able to do something with her once this is all over.” She moved over to Marinette and picked up her body, carrying her bridal style. “I would hate for a piece of art like her to go to waste. After all,” She smiled slightly. “She’s still her own person, she just needs someone to fix the broken pieces.”</p><p>Mayday smiled softly back at the sight of Eve. “Let’s put her in a safe place and head back then, shall we?” May started to walk off towards the entrance to start heading back to the sewers again. This was probably the strangest experience she had ever had in terms of a fight, but she could tell there was growth between them. At the very least, this was another district in the bag for them, meaning there was only one remaining now. Although she was going to be glad to be out of Dreamfever – it was never really her type of district.</p><p>“Mayday,” Eve deadpanned. “Are you forgetting something?”</p><p>May paused, giving Eve a blank look. </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>“OH MY GOSH WE LEFT ZUKE!”</p><p>Mayday set off sprinting down the gallery halls in hopes of finding her buddy once again.</p><p>---------------------------------------------------------</p><p>“AKIKO? Are you here?”</p><p>Kliff stumbled his way over the piles of smashed computers and tech that he could haves worn was bigger than the last time he was here. Barraca Mansion seemed darker than last time as well with a rolling thick fog cascading its way through the air, making it much harder for Kliff to see anything. The overall setting made him swallow a lump in his throat – When he was informed that AKIKO had asked for him, and him personally, he was frankly terrified at the notion. She may have given him warning about Luthor and the Estallia Corporation, but there was just something about her that unsettled him. She was mysterious, and he really didn’t want to find out the answers to all his questions.</p><p>“Same place as last time, Kliff!” a voice shouted back, an air of sleepiness about it. </p><p>He reached the main room of the mansion to find AKIKO sat at the make-shift computer, bags under her eyes, hair a mess, and clothes scuffed on her body. The light from the computer lit up her face, her red eyes scanning over its content furiously. Kliff coughed to gain her attention, to which he saw her glance in his direction, before sighing and addressing him.</p><p>“Kliff, glad you came.” She spun her chair to face him. “Luthor treating you well?</p><p>Kliff rubbed the back of his head. “Well, for the most part. He’s been in a constant state of anger since we visited you. I’m surprised he let come here at your request.”</p><p>AKIKO laughed. “That’s because he didn’t.” She ran her fingers through her hair and stood up, yawning. “I let Betty know that I wanted you here. She’s brave enough to keep secrets from Luthor, even if she doesn’t seem like it.”</p><p>“So Luthor doesn’t know I’m here?” He asked.</p><p>“I know from your past that you’re experienced with computer stuff and all that crap.” She said, ignoring his question. She gestured to the chair with a hand. “I want someone to check my work before I declare it as finished. I would normally ask Lola and Peet, or even get AI to wander around the database to check if it’s okay, but I’m sure you understand why that’s not possible.”</p><p>The man paused, calculating through AKIKO’s ask of him. “Oh, well… I’d be happy to.” He walked cautiously to the computer chair and sat down, eyeing up the structure of the electronic. He saw that the work contained pages upon pages of code and data, the sight of the small scroll bar at the side setting in a sense of dread. “You want me to check all of this?”</p><p>AKIKO patted him on the shoulder. “Sorry my guy. They’re normally not that bad in terms of length, but big projects mean lots of work.” She sighed. “I worked with AI’s creator a long time ago till Luthor dropped them. As the new resident tech person, it’s on you now.” She grabbed a mug from a nearby TV top and began to make her way towards one of the many halls. “I need something to drink, so I’ll leave you to get on with that.” She turned back to him. “Just gimmie a shout if you need anything.” She winked at him, then left, disappearing into the dark.</p><p>With a sigh of frustration, but complacency, Kliff started to run through the work on the screen. He couldn’t say that this wasn’t at least interesting; the level of complexity of AKIKO’s work was fascinating, and considering from appearance Kliff assumed she was only in her 20s, the expertise of someone so young was something he couldn’t help but marvel at.</p><p>He must have spent a good twenty minutes on it by now. Time sure flies when you’re scanning through lines upon lines of data – But it was strange. He was only a small portion of the way in, but the code just… didn’t seem to make sense now. Or well, it did – it was very much legible and would work – but the things it was suggesting that it would do were... impossible.</p><p>Kliff began to worry now, his pace in scanning through quickening as a sense of urgence and curiosity washed over him. More and more he read over it, the same concept and outcome always emerging from the combination of data. Things about Vinyl City… The world… Power and music… </p><p>And there it was. Something hidden within the lines. It was barely clear enough to see, but he could. A data source with no name and encrypted beyond levels he had seen before. Was it a mistake on AKIKO’s part? Or was it deliberate? Wait… did she ask for him specifically for this reason?</p><p>He didn’t hesitate, moving the mouse to click on the hidden source. He watched as the computer loaded it up and began to decrypt it for him, thankfully taking a large portion of the hard work away. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure AKIKO wasn’t there as the progress bar slowly began to fill. Now that he mentioned it, twenty minutes was a long time to make a drink, even if it she was making it from scratch… Perhaps she got distracted by something else along the way? Was she going out to get the drink? Or maybe…  </p><p>A ping bought Kliff’s attention back to the computer, the screen informing him it was finished doing the process. After clicking confirm, he started to search through the files on the computer, hunting to see where the decrypted content was hiding from him. It didn’t take him long to find it – it was the only file on the computer. Sat on the screen in the white box was a file he hadn’t seen before when he was going through Estallia’s database, nor had he seen it on NSR’s database too. Yet the name rang a bell to him somehow, like maybe someone had mentioned it before.</p><p>The file was marked “R.UN.A”.</p><p>He clicked on it and watched as its contents loaded on the screen, various documents appearing. The majority of them had basic names: analytic reports, monetary gains, and the like. He looked through some of the accounting documents to see purchases such as a cruise ship, various buildings and structures, and separate payment transactions to artists not associated to the company. One of them read “GLEAN”, who Kliff had remembered meeting before they had left to fight the NSR artists and B2J. The other however he hadn’t seen before, nor could he read it. It was written in some other language he couldn’t understand. It didn’t help with his investigation, but at least he got some information from this. Many of the analytic files were the same kind of thing, with no other purchases really jumping out to him.</p><p>Looking back over the files and dismissing the finance-based ones, he eventually reached two that caught his eye: one marked “Project Tranquillity” and the other being a picture – the only picture in the entire file.</p><p>He decided to investigate Project Tranquillity first, clicking on it and waiting for it to load. Once it did, Kliff was greeted to an abundance of pages, each filled to the brim with writing, aside from the occasional header. As he read through, he saw the same kind of thing he found in the original data AKIKO had him look at with mentions of Vinyl City and music being abundant. There were further mentions too, going into depth about why each particular Estallia artists were chosen, each stage of the plot such as taking control of Vinyl City, and how Luthor himself came into it all. </p><p>This was it. This was what Luthor was planning. </p><p>Kliff had to lean back in the chair to gather himself. He had thought what the coding was suggesting was insane enough, but now, with every inch of it spelled out for him, it seemed ever more like an impossible thing. Kliff took a breath in, then out, his hand rising to rub his temple. Luthor couldn’t actually do that… could he? But how could… and the aftermath…</p><p>Kliff shook his head to bring himself out of the horrible thought. He still had one last thing to look at before AKIKO came back, not to mention he had to fathom why on earth Luthor would want to do that. For what reason did Luthor have to go through with this plan? What drives a man so far away from reality to do such a thing?</p><p>He clicked off Project Tranquillity and onto the picture, looking over his shoulder again as it loaded to ensure he was still alone. He froze up when he saw movement over on the far side, but it quickly revealed itself to be a mouse – He was still alone thankfully. Although… AKIKO still wasn’t back… that was worrying. Regardless, he continued his pursuit of knowledge, turning back to the computer as the picture loaded up. Finally, he would get some of his questions answered.</p><p>Only… now he saw the picture… and saw the three figures in the centre… he had even more questions.</p><p> </p><p>“Luthor looks different, doesn’t he?”</p><p>Kliff jumped from the voice, turning to see AKIKO standing behind him with a cup of what smelt to be tea, and a cookie in her other hand. Kliff quickly shuffled and fussed to close the picture down, only for AKIKO to place her hands over his own with a laugh. </p><p>“Dude, it’s fine.” She said, as she moved his hands away from the keyboard. “You’re panicking like I didn’t hide vital information in the very code I gave you to look at.”</p><p>Kliff raised an eyebrow. “So you were the one to hide it here then.” He paused. “And the picture? I take it that…”</p><p>She nodded in response. “I’m sure you can use your inference skills to figure it all out.” She placed her cup down on the TV as she finished her cookie off, clearing her mouth as she wiped crumbs from her face. “Of course, details on what happened to her are something you can find out yourself, her name is the file name, after all.” </p><p>“Tell me, AKIKO,” Said Kliff. “You clearly don’t side with Luthor. Even if, as you said, you “don’t have a choice”, why do all of this for him? Why give him the means to complete what he has sought out to do?”</p><p>The artist scoffed as she sat down on a pile of electronics. “Did you not see how I was trying to? How I postponed making it till the very last second?” She sighed. “If you’ve read all of Project Tranquillity, you know why.” He watched her shudder, wrapping herself up in her arms. She appeared to become pale, which was very hard to say when the girl had white skin. “That kind of shit isn’t something I want to experience ever again.” She dead panned. “I hate going to meet up with him for that reason.”</p><p>Kliff hummed in alliance. “I can’t say I blame you.” He looked at the screen, eyeing up Luthor’s different demeanour on the picture. “Judging by this current situation, I can imagine this is an old photo.”</p><p>“About twenty years ago, actually. That’s the last photo that exists of her.” AKIKO replied. “Time sure flies when your boss is essentially a dictator.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “We shouldn’t have to worry too long though. They’ll be here in no time to take Metro back.”</p><p>Kliff’s ears pricked up. “Oh? You mean Bunkbed Junction and the NSR artists? You believe that they can stop Luthor?”</p><p>AKIKO shrugged. “I still have my doubts, but I do think the irony is there if B2J stop him.” She reached for her cup and took a swig. “They’ve gotta get through that traitor first though… I find them annoying, but I won’t disagree that they’re a very good at what they do.” She chuckled. “I almost find it sweet that they see me as their idol.” She shook her head, knocking herself out of train of thought. “But anyway, you better get back to Luthor before he throws a shitfit at both of us.”</p><p>“But… what about you?” Kliff questioned. “You expect me to just go back to him after this? After knowing what he’s doing?” He paused. “And possibly what he’s done to you?”</p><p>AKIKO scooted herself off the pile and made her way over to Kliff, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about me, worry about yourself more. If you say a word that you disagree with his plans, you’ll get put the same place where he’s put Tatiana.” She shoved him in the direction of the door, Kliff walking on his own after a while as the girl went to take a seat at the computer again. “Stay safe, Kliff. Don’t wanna see you get caught up in all this.”</p><p>Kliff paused in front of the entrance. “I take it you’re testing the artists to see if they’re good enough? That you’re not just going to let them have Metro?”</p><p>She nodded.</p><p>Kliff smiled. “In that case, don’t go easy on B2J. They can take it. They’re strong like that. It’s the one reason I… unfortunately used them beforehand.”</p><p>AKIKO snorted, a smirk coming on her face.</p><p>“Believe me, I’m gonna give them the hardest test they’ve ever faced.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, these were potentially cut from the story, but I initially planned a form change for Marinette with new music. All of them are available on YouTube. The music is essentially Dubstep ballet:<br/>- Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy (Electrohouse Remix)<br/>- Prituri Se planinata (NiT GriT Remix)<br/>- David Cavallin - Swan Lake Remix</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. The path of Truth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Short Chapter today, but interesting stuff going on in it!</p><p>I have some bad news. I shall be taking a 5 week break from RTR. 1)For suspense, 2)Because It's the holidays, 3)I need to study since I NEED to pass my exam in Jan otherwise I can't go on my year abroad, and 4)Maybe I can get at least 1 chapter out for my other stuff (as well as the writing competition that politely informed me the deadline is in like 12 days ahhhhhhh)<br/>But yeah, there's gonna be a break in RTR stuff. Don't worry, Imma leave you off on a "F you Rene" kind of note, but I has stuff to focus on. Also I've been writing this for like 20 weeks and need a break in general.<br/>So, you have this chapter, but after that (5?) week break.</p><p>But anyway, please enjoy this chapter, and tell me what you thought in the comments! If your comment is a paragraph or even just AAAAAAAAA, I love it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zuke was a little worse for wear as Eve and Mayday had helped him through the districts on the way back to the sewers. Even with his wounds, there hadn’t been a lot of blood coming from him which possibly meant that the puncture wasn’t as bad as they thought, but even so, the girls could see that he was paler than usual. He would probably be okay to head out for AKIKO if the sabre had missed important things, but he was going to need some time to recover. At least she was the last artist they needed to deal with before Luthor himself.</p><p>They passed through Natura, Akusuka, Cast Tech, and were finally in Festival Plaza. They passed by the Soul Reapers who were busy with the generator, the three of them crowded around it and playing with some of the wires and technology. They had remembered that Team Sayu had taught them some things about how to work it or fix it should anything go wrong, which considering the weak and glitching lights they had witnessed as they passed through the districts, something was going wrong. Festival Plaza wasn’t exempt from the malfunction, the streetlamps and shop signs blinking in irregular patterns. They told themselves that they’d have it sorted in no time; if not, they could always get Team Sayu or Supernova on it to sort it out. They had bigger priorities anyway, like getting Zuke some medical attention.</p><p>It didn’t take long before they had made it to the entrance of the sewers outside of the Mamak. All the way down they had seen the lights bugging out – even the training junk yard that Mayday and Zuke frequented was messing up which was… weird. They were pretty sure that the Junk yard and sewer’s power ran on a different powerline from everything else – Zuke had wired it up himself – so for it to be glitching like the rest of the districts was bizarre. Maybe something was up with the Grand Qwaza? They would definitely have to get some of the more experienced artists on it then.</p><p>Eve had climbed down the ladder first to allow Mayday to lower Zuke down easier since they didn’t really want him climbing. May was the last to touch the sewer floor, but was greeted to the same scene as her accomplices had, her mouth going agape too. To see the figure before them only set a pit of dread in their stomachs about everything going wrong outside, that it possibly wasn’t just a mistake that the power was breaking up – and to see the other artists crowding around them with concerned looks on their faces made them think that their situation was about to go from bad to worse.</p><p>Zuke hissed through his teeth as he held his wound, equally surprised to see the new person. “West? What are you doing here?”</p><p>DK West turned to face his brother, running to him upon seeing the pain Zuke was in. The rapper easily carried his brother to the sofa for a rest, gently placing him down as Mayday was grabbing what she could out of the medical tin. His shirt was stained with blood, but the volume of it was a lot less than they were expecting. ‘More than likely missed anything important’, May thought as she began to clean it up. It still wasn’t ideal that he was hurt, but at least the chance of him just dying on her was slim now. Once she was finished, he thanked her, an air of awkwardness filtering back in between them. They still hadn’t reconciled properly, but Zuke thought now probably wasn’t the time to bring their friendship back up. </p><p>“Jeez bro, look what you gettin’ yourself into!” West spoke up, concern and disappointment lacing his voice. “You gotta be more careful lah!”</p><p>Zuke waved a hand of dismissal. “I’m going to be alright. Besides,” He gestured to his brother. “I feel you being here is something that needs talking about more. We’ve not seen you since you left after our last rap battle.”</p><p>West scratched the back his head as he sighed. “T’ought that if I should tell anyone, it would be you.” His face steeled as he took a seat across from Zuke, sitting crossed legged on the floor. “T’ings be goin’ on outside of Vinyl City. Bad t’ings.”</p><p>Eve, Mayday, and Zuke exchanged looks of concern. From the looks of the rest of the artists, they had already been told – and their sadden faces didn’t bring promising thoughts for the three of them. “What kind of bad things?” Mayday asked. “Is it related to the power freaking out here? We saw how the lights have been going haywire on the way back.”</p><p>West hesitated, running his fingers over his henna. “So t’is happenin’ here too now…” </p><p>Zuke raised an eyebrow. “Happening here too? What’s happening? Is it related to Estallia?”</p><p>DK West sighed again as he bawled his hands into fists. “T’is everywhere, bro. T’ey got everyt’ing where t’ey want it. Estallia are a crazy company t’at aren’t to be messed wit’.”</p><p>Eve rolled her eyes. “Please spit it out already, dragging it on for long just means we have less time to fix it.”</p><p>“But t’ats just da t’ing! You can’t fix it!” West pounded the ground with his fist. “t’is all gone. Da power is all gone. Da world is in darkness. And Vinyl City is next.”</p><p>The three of them couldn’t believe their ears. Eve chuckled a little, either through amusement or confusion. “I’m sorry, how is the power gone? And not just from one place, but from everywhere?”</p><p>West shook his head. “I don’t know. One momen’ t’is there, da next, da sky goes dark. Da power just cut out and no one can get it back.” He laced his fingers, staring at them to avoid looking at anyone else. “Lights? Gone. Equipment? Not workin’. Peeps tried playin’ t’ier instruments which does get it back, but the momen’t t’ey stop playin’ – poof! Gone again.” He groaned. “We canna keep playin’ forever lah.”</p><p>Dodo spoke up now, walking to the Eve, Zuke, and Mayday, and showing a diagram on his phone to the three of them. It showed the power readings from several other cities from all around the globe, all of which were at an all-time low with barely 1% on their bars. “We checked to make sure and he’s sadly right.” Dodo said. “The only one that seems to be outputting any power right now is us, but even Vinyl City is losing power at a rapid rate.” He gestured to his team in the corner of the room who were huddled around various pieces of equipment, their hands flying over the screen. “We’ve been working harder than ever to get into that R.UN.A file since we think it might have something about Luthor’s plan.” He put his phone away, frowning. “We think we’re almost there since it’s become a lot harder to break each fire wall, but as a result we’re struggling now.”</p><p>DJ spoke up from another side of the sewers where he was conversing with Neon J. “Is there any way that we might be of assistance?” He asked. “Neon and I have expertise with technology, after all.”</p><p>Dodo hummed in thought. “You’re welcome to give it a try. We only have enough equipment for the four of us at a push, but we’ll take any help we can get at this point.” </p><p>The gentlemen took the offer with a nod, Dodo leading them to the corner where they set to work. It left the rest of the artists to contemplate DK’s words and the reality of the situation. West broke the silence, saying, “Ot’er t’ings have happened too. T’ere’s been dead spots around everywhere. Strange stuff.”</p><p>“Dead spots?” May repeated. She thought for a moment before asking, “You mean like spots of no sound? Like you can’t hear anything?” </p><p>West nodded, leading to Mayday and Zuke looking to each other with confusion. They had both experienced the same kind of thing: Zuke in Glean’s fight, and Mayday in Marinette’s. They definitely didn’t remember seeing the other Estallia artist there at the fights though, so which was it that had that power? Was it even them? Either way the dead spots were spreading, and coming alongside the power cutting out outside of Vinyl City, that couldn’t possibly be any good. </p><p>“I had a similar thing in one of the battles actually.” Zuke said. “I thought it was from one of the Estallia artists, but it showing up elsewhere says differently.” He leant up slowly on the sofa, gripping his wound. It at least hurt less now that it was cleaned. “We haven’t met AKIKO yet. Maybe she’s behind it.”</p><p>“Tatiana has a similar power, doesn’t she?” Eve asked. “Luthor might be using her power in some way.” She frowned. “I wouldn’t put it past him to use Tatiana like that.”</p><p>“Oh, t’at’s another t’ing.” West interjected. “I seen people being taken away if t’ey try to fight back. Like t’ose people who tried to play to get power? Watched t’em get dragged off by some young artists. Da young artist’s we’re strong too. Easily wiped t’em out.”</p><p>At the mention of young artists, Mother pulled Yinu closer to her. “So Luthor has extra artists at his disposal.” She said, kissing Yinu’s forehead. “The one’s in charge of the districts were hard enough, I can’t imagine what an army of them would be like.”</p><p>Mayday blew a raspberry, waving her hand in dismissal. “Pfft, we’ve taken the big Estallia artists so far. If they’re young, surely that means less experience.” She pulled out her guitar. “We can take them, I’m sure of it.”</p><p>Zuke looked to her with an eye roll. “May, look at everything that has happened from the start to now. We almost died to the Soul Reapers, we thought DJ was dead, Tila almost lost her sight, Glean cracked my head open, Yinu and I almost became spider food, and now I have been stabbed.” He paused, pointing a finger at her. “And don’t get me started on your bruise which I can see peaking out under your top.” He rubbed his temple with a sigh. “We are strong, but imagine trying to fight all those Estallia artists at once.”</p><p>May pouted. “Since when did you become so defeatist?” She asked, that air of tension between them coming back. She crossed her arms. “West said he saw them outside Vinyl City anyway, so we might not even see them.”</p><p>“Even so,” Eve interjected. “I can’t imagine Luthor will be unprotected. If they’re taking troublemakers away, that can only mean they have somewhere to put them.” She bit her lip, worry about her face. “Tatiana might be there too.”</p><p>A small pause of silence fell between them, the artists contemplating all the new information. After a beat, West took a deep breathe in, then out, before going to stand. “Well, I’m glad I can help, but I gotta get goin’.” He messed with his clothes a little, brushing some of his locks out of his face. “I wanna help the other cities, try to get people on our side. If Estallia is as bad as you have said, we need all da help we can get.”</p><p>Zuke stood to meet his brother with a wince. “Bro, I don’t want you putting yourself in danger. Stay with us. We can help the other cities as a group then.” Zuke insisted, but his words were met by a shake of West’s head.</p><p>“You guys can deal wit’ Luthor and the artists. We’ll deal wit’ the smaller guys. Besides,” He gave Zuke a light punch on his shoulder, a grin on his face. “Zukey is so used to the high life now, you’ll be terrible at dealin’ with the smaller guys.” Zuke laughed a little, West continuing. “I’ll be fine lah, you got nothing to worry about.”</p><p>They knew DK West was strong – Mayday and Zuke especially – but as his brother, Zuke couldn’t help but feel worried. They hadn’t expected the Estallia artists to be as dangerous as they were, and West was probably underestimating the younger artists just as much. But they had to come to that once it had arrived. There was no point fretting over it now, particularly when they still had AKIKO to deal with… and they had to find Tatiana.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ve got it!”</p><p>The artists looked to Remi who had made the outburst. Team Sayu’s faces were elated as they stared at the tablet screen, a sense of wonder and curiosity behind their eyes.</p><p>“Got what?” Mayday asked. Remi shuffled a few cables about, before turning the tablet to face the artists. The screen showed a white window box with several documents and files darted about in its contents. Many appeared to be economic documents, but there were others with peculiar names too. Remi beamed from ear to ear, announcing,</p><p>“We’ve managed to get into R.UN.A.”</p><p>In an instant, everyone in the room crowded around the young teens, each one eager to learn the contents of the file. How long had it been since they had received the file? It was back after they had defeated AI which was weeks ago now. They had gotten through Glean, Vedova, and Marinette in that time. It had felt like forever, but finally, at least some of the pain they went through was going to be worth it.</p><p>Supernova looked over Remi’s shoulder, reading the contents in the file. He hummed. “It appears to contain a copious amount of progress reports and spending documents. I recommend looking at the alternatives first. We can go through that data later.”</p><p>Remi nodded his head. “Yeah, same here. We can set up teams to go through them all.” He looked to Neon J. “Maybe we can get 1010 to help with that? More hands the better.” </p><p>“My men can provide what assistance they can until we have to leave for our mission in Metro Division.” Neon replied. 1010 saluted behind him, already processing the order from their boss.</p><p>“Great,” Remi continued. He began to scroll down the file, his eyes scanning quickly over for any document that wasn’t the purchase history. “Now let’s see if there’s anything that will give us an idea of what Luthor is doing.”</p><p>Remi continued through the file, everyone else equally scanning over the contents. It didn’t take long for them to find something different from the norm, for sat at the very bottom of the document was two very out of place files: </p><p>A file marked ‘Project Tranquillity’,</p><p>And a photo with the name ‘The Truth’.</p><p>Mayday pointed to the photo with eagerness. “Okay okay, that one first. Less words means answers quicker. And with a name like ‘The Truth’, how could you not pick that first?”</p><p>Remi chuckled, going to tap on the photo. After a moment, it loaded for them, displaying in full screen for all the artists to see. It showed what looked to be the inside of a mansion of some kind, decorated in a mixture of regalness and orientalism with golds, reds, and blues lining the walls, and various expensive pieces of artwork darted about the background. The main focus of the picture were the three figures up front, smiles on all their faces. They were sat on a very out of place leopard print couch, with the two older figures sat side by side of each other, and the younger figure sat in between them. Needless to say, ‘The Truth’ gave them more questions they wanted answered. </p><p>Eve stepped forward; eyebrow raised as she indicated to one of the older figures. “Forgive me if I’m wrong, but is that not Luthor?”</p><p>The rest of the artist stared at the figure. Sure enough, it was Luthor, possibly a little younger than he was now. He was still the same man they knew today with styled black hair, pale blue skin, and black suit… and yet… this Luthor was smiling. Not one of malicious intent or amusement – one of joy. This was the real Luthor – the Luthor lost through time. What could have happened to him?</p><p>“So, if that’s Luthor, then who are they?” Tila asked as she pointed her sleeve at the other figures in the picture. The older figure was a woman probably around Luthor’s age, if not older. She had pale white skin with pale white hair to match, and red eyes. She was dressed much differently than Luthor – more casual – with a baggy blue vest top, and tight grey jeans adorned with chains. Her nails were painted black to match the colour of her light makeup, with cartilage piercings finishing off her casual look. </p><p>Then next to her was the youngest of the group; a young girl, maybe four or five years old, with long black hair, pale white skin, and red eyes. She was dressed smartly like Luthor, wearing a simple black dress with white frilling, complete with navy blue tights. </p><p>Zuke was the first to address this, saying, “Is…Is that Luthor’s daughter? Have we seen her around Vinyl City somewhere?” He looked to the rest of the artists who just shrugged and shook their heads. </p><p>“Judging by the picture,” Supernova spoke up, “This is from some time ago. Perhaps a tragic accident occurred of some kind? Hence why we have seen neither the daughter nor who I assume is the wife of Luthor anywhere.”</p><p>“Maybe that’s what the other file contains?” Sofa concluded. It was merely an assumption, but they needed to address Project Tranquillity too, especially with a name like that.</p><p>Remi shrugged in response, closing down the picture and selecting the other unique file in the folder. It took far longer to load then they would have liked, but eventually it came up on screen – all 20 odd pages of it. It was overwhelming the amount of content that Project Tranquillity contained, Remi using the slider at the side to see just how much writing there was. He groaned. Too much.</p><p>“Wait wait wait, what was that?” Mayday asked. “I swear I saw a header about Vinyl City just now.”</p><p>Remi perked up, scrolling back up the document cautiously. He wasn’t sure how May had seen it, but sure enough in big bold letters and was a title that read, ‘The Vinyl City plan’ followed by what was arguably the most paragraphs to any of the headings in the document. It easily spanned 10 pages, with bullet points and graph detailing the plan Luthor had for Vinyl City. They hadn’t even started reading it, yet they all felt that unsure and uncomfortable feeling they had all experienced when the lights first went out in Vinyl City. </p><p>“Wanna read it out, Remi?” Dodo asked, to which the artist adjusted his glasses with a sigh. </p><p>“I might as well,” Remi replied. “Although we’re going to be here for a while.” He cleared his throat, opening his mouth to start reading the first lines of the plan. Finally, they were going to get some answers to all of this. Just what was Luthor planning? Why is all the power going out? What are those dead spots? That photo? Luthor’s reasons for doing this? Finally, things were going to get cleared up for them, and finally, they were going to have an advantage over Luthor and the Estallia artists.</p><p>And then the tablet was snatched out of Remi’s hands, the perpetrator already making their way towards the exit ladder to the sewers.</p><p>“Whoa, what the heck? What are you doing?” Remi blurted out, a mixture of shock and anger.</p><p>“Yeah! We were just about to find out what’s going on!” Tila cried.</p><p>But the thief paid them no mind, already making their way up the ladder with rapid speed, heading up and out the sewers without another word. </p><p>1010 and Neon J had already made a start after them, quickly followed by Team Sayu, and Yinu.</p><p>Meanwhile, Supernova was in a state of shock, his mind contemplating what had just happened. “I… For once, I do not understand…”</p><p>Zuke too was in the same boat, hesitating in following after the other artists. “I thought that… at the battle…”</p><p>Mayday wasn’t hesitating though. She had already grabbed her guitar, running towards the exit with a cry of,</p><p> </p><p>“Momo, get back here!”</p><p> </p><p>West’s ears pricked up. “Momo?” He asked, looking to Mayday as she disappeared out the manhole, then to his brother for confirmation. “Momo Koumori?” He asked again.</p><p>Zuke looked to West with confusion. “You… You know Momo?”</p><p>Upon the assurance that he had heard the name correctly, DK’s face quickly went from one of recognition, to one of anger. In an instant, he was pounding his way up and out the hideout, his nostrils flaring, and his fists clenched. Zuke had never seen him this angry, even when they were younger. Something was up.</p><p>Eve sauntered past him, making haste but in a calmer manner. She looked to Zuke and asked, “Are you just going to stand there? Mother is staying here if your wounds are too much.”</p><p>Zuke considered it but steeled his face. “No, I’m coming with.” He said.</p><p>“I need to see the traitor in action.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Song for today is 'Set It Off - Wolf In Sheep's Clothing'. I thought it was appropriate for the the current situation.<br/>Sorry to leave you on a KLIFF hanger.<br/>Side note: I know some people want the character sheets for the Estallia artists, so I've started https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rtrcharactersheets (Copy and paste it in the bar.) Even if you don't have a Tumblr, you should be able to look at them. There's nothing on it yet, but I'll be posting them there if anyone wants them.</p><p>But yeah, thank you all so much for staying with this fic as it goes on! I really didn't expect this many people to be reading my stuff, but it's been really nice. (I think I worked out there's around 300 readers within the first day of it being posted?) Seeing comments both jokingly hating me and giving me praise has helped me a lot. I hope you have a wonderful winter holiday, and I shall see you in 5 weeks ( January 29th)!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Vs. Momo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, I'm like a week late I think. Oops. Things... got a little bad for me over the break, and still aren't too great. But it's all good.<br/>I have bad news. Uploads from now on aren't going to be consistent. Doing a chapter every week really overwhelmed me and made me hate writing this if I'm honest. My aim is for a new chapter every two weeks, but that's just a target, not an assurance. I'm really sorry to upload less, I just really can't keep doing what I was doing before. It was hurting me and this fic.<br/>On a more positive note, You get a chapter update today, yay! <br/>I personally find chapters like this a little weird, but you can't have a fic about a music game without this. You'll see what I mean.<br/>Anyway, Enjoy! Please tell me your thoughts in the comments! They really help!<br/>CW// Swearing</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Momo! Get back here!”</p><p>The artists were running down the side streets after the bat girl, the 1010 bots in front and Zuke at the back with Eve. Rushing past buildings and stalls with the lights flickering above them, a few still couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.  They had been so close to answers… then the answers were quite literally snatched away from them. And with DK West angrier than Zuke had ever seen him, what on earth could have possibly happened between DK and Momo? Who was Momo? </p><p>They had made it to Festival Plaza now, Momo speeding past the Grand Qwaza and heading down another side street. The artists were getting tired – minus 1010, of course – as they followed after each other in hopes of catching up with Momo. Despite being small, she was running at a determined pace, never faltering in her progression. Even with her in a dress, the bots were having trouble keeping up with her. </p><p>They must have gone down several streets and around several corners by the time they came to a stop. Momo had met a dead end finally, and with the artists collecting at the entrance of the alleyway, there was no way out for her. She was trapped with nowhere else to run, and severely outnumbered. They were going to get the tablet back for sure.</p><p>Zuke and Eve were the last to arrive with the group, with Eve helping the drummer along. He pushed to the front of the group with ragged breaths, then looked at Momo with a look of betrayal and hurt. “Momo, why are you doing this?” He asked with a wince. “I know your mom went to talk with Luthor. If she’s in trouble and you’re doing this to protect her, you don’t have to. We can help you.” </p><p>West burst into laughter at Zuke’s words, pointing a finger at the bat girl who had turned to face them, the tablet clutched tightly at her chest. After collecting himself, he said, “She won’t listen lah. She’s a dirty rotten thief through and through.” He folded his arms and frowned. “Isn’t dat right, Koumori? How many songs have you had again?” He paused, feigning surprise. “Oh, sorry – How many have you stolen?”</p><p>Momo glared at the rapper, before turning away from the group and shouting, “I’m here! I have the tablet!”</p><p>After a brief pause, the artists were greeted to a wall of fire near Momo, seemingly springing up from nowhere. It disappeared to reveal a familiar figure that a few knew all too well, Team Sayu and B2J especially growing with anger from seeing them. The moment when they had met Momo made much more sense now, yet the reasons as to why were still unknown to them.</p><p>Truss ran his fingers through his hair, before smirking and gesturing towards the group of artists. “Well well, looks like you’re all as dumb as I thought.” He chuckled. “How long were you tricked for? You’ve gotten through several districts since you first took Momo in. I honestly didn’t think the kid had it in her.” </p><p>Momo looked to Truss and huffed, choosing to not respond to the comment. Truss continued, holding out his hand to the girl. “Thanks for the help, bat. You were better than that angel, anyway. Waste of space they were. You can hand over the tablet now and I’ll give it to Luthor. He’ll sort out that reward he offered to you.”</p><p>A pause – Momo did nothing, not even looking in Truss’s direction.</p><p>Truss frowned, gritting his teeth. “Hand. It over. Kid.” </p><p>Momo turned her back on him.</p><p>The singer exploded at her, his hands sparking up with fire. “Listen here you little shit, give me the tablet now or that dress is gonna go up in flames you obnoxious little-”</p><p>As soon as he approached her, Momo bought her hand to her mouth and whistled, a high-pitched shriek bursting out and echoing around the area before fading. After a beat of silence and Truss having a confused look on his face, the sounds of squeaks and flapping wings became louder and louder as she looked towards the sky with a smile on her face. The NSR artists looked to where Momo was looking, seeing a few moments later a large collection of flying creatures advancing to their location. </p><p>“Kid,” Truss spoke with an air of worry, taking a step back from Momo. “What the hell is that?”</p><p>Momo turned to the singer and grinned a sickly-sweet smile at him. She giggled a little, feigning a gentle and innocent voice as she responded. “Why, they’re my friends Mr Truss! Do you not like my friends? They’re going to help me!” </p><p>The creatures quickly revealed themselves to be a collection of dark purple bats, all of them screeching and shrieking into the night as they descended towards the small girl. The swarm hung over her head as she stared at Truss with wide eyes, the tablet gripped tightly in her arms. </p><p>Truss took a step back, clenching his teeth as he brought fire to his hands. He flicked a fireball at the bats, hitting a few and taking chunks out of them from the sheer heat of his fire. He watched his victims fall to the ground, making him feel resound and assured that he was safe. But his brevity promptly became fear as he watched the burnt bats seemingly form back together, stitching bone and flesh whole again, and re-joining the group. Whatever these creatures were, they weren’t normal bats. He blasted more fire at them in an attempt to take them out, even singing some notes to make a more powerful attack, but his efforts were futile, the bats merely regaining their composure and collating back together. </p><p>“Do you not like my friends, Mr Truss?” Momo asked. The singer in question went pale, his fear further growing as a small portion of the bats moved closer to him. The little girl pouted at him, finishing herself with, “I don’t like people that don’t like my friends.”</p><p>The artists watched at the bats easily picked up Truss, lifting him off the pavement and up into the sky. He was screaming and wriggling the whole time, trying to break free from the creatures’ grips, but even with his struggling, the bats didn’t drop him. Seconds later, Truss was being carried up and over the buildings, his final scream fading at the bats carried him far away from Momo and the other artists. Truss was gone – Where? None of them were really sure.</p><p>Momo turned to face the NSR artists, bats circling her head. She looked exactly as they had known her for the past couple of weeks, yet at the same time… this wasn’t the Momo they knew. There was something sinister about her. The Momo they knew called herself a peach, drew pictures with Yinu, and happily put stickers on Zuke’s new drumsticks. But now, with the little bat girl in front of them and the information they needed to get an advantage in her arms, Momo suddenly wasn’t Momo anymore. </p><p>Zuke stepped forward again, reaching a hand out to Momo. “Whatever is wrong Momo, we can it fix together. You don’t have to do any of this. Please.” He glanced down at his drumsticks, his heart clenching a little at the sight of the abundance of stickers. “You’re a sweet girl, Momo. And you know that we, “He gestured to himself and the rest of the artists. “will care for you until you can get back to your mom. You seemed to be having so much fun in the sewer HQ with everyone. I just… don’t understand what would put you at this point, even if West says you’re not who you say you are.” He sighed, taking another step forward. “Give us back the tablet. We’re not your enemy. We’re your-”</p><p>“Oh my gosh, will you shut the fuck up already?!”</p><p>Zuke blanched at Momo’s outburst, words struggling to rise from his mouth. No… It couldn’t have been… maybe he misheard or something. Why on earth would she be like-</p><p>“Truss was an idiot but jeez, at least he saw through everything.” Momo flattened her dress down, brushing out any creases. “Your rapper friend there tells you some of my past, and yet you still come after me compassionately? Hell, I’d say you’re worse than Truss in terms of stupidity.”</p><p>DK West barked a laugh at Momo’s remarks. “True colours comin’ out. You almost wrecked me whole career wit what you did. And all dose people whose careers you did ruin.” He glared at the Momo. “Takin’ what isn’t yours is wrong. You plagiarised from other artists, then spewed dis whole ‘I’m so innocent, de’re is no way I would steal, they must have stolen from me’ nonsense.”</p><p>Momo huffed. “I made their shit music better. Besides, you’re dismissing the music that I created myself.” She flicked her hair with her hand, a lack of empathy about her. “You don’t get to topping the charts against some of the greatest rappers in the world by just stealing from lesser-known ones.”</p><p>“Hold on then,” Zuke spoke up, trying to gather his thoughts together from the sudden reveal. “If you have a strong career, why are you doing this in the first place? What is Luthor offering you if you’re already a big musician?”</p><p>Momo lit up at the question, becoming giddy and excited. “Only the most amazing thing ever! A chance to spend a whole week with my favourite artist in the whole world, and ask her questions, and see what she does outside of performing, and listen to her speak, and ask her to teach me everything she knows, and…” She squealed, hopping up and down. “It’s going to be so amazing I can’t wait! Just texting her has been incredible, even if she never responds!”</p><p>DJ came forward with a confused look on his face. “You… weren’t messaging your mother?” He paused for a moment. “So you were in contact with one of Luthor’s artists all this time. You led us to believe this falsely concocted tale of loss and misguidance. And what of your actual Mother? Does she know of your misdeeds? Or is she as oblivious to you as we were before?”</p><p>The bat girl seemed to pause for a beat, a brief look of… something… coming over her. “Look, don’t get me wrong, you were all really nice to me. I felt welcome. You were friendly and accepting, and it was nice to have people to talk to and…” She shook herself out of it. “I really really wanna spend time with AKIKO, okay? And if I have to, you know, steal a tablet when you’re about to find out some really important stuff, I’ve gotta do it.”</p><p>It was Neon’s turn to speak now, the manager huffing in annoyance as he watched 1010 comfort Yinu who had begun to sob. He pointed a finger at Momo, anger lacing his voice. “I don’t care for your reasons, traitor. You not only betrayed us – we who took you in – but also someone who thought you as a friend.” With another glance at Yinu, he turned and started to storm towards the bat girl, frustration apparent. “You’re cornered and outnumbered. Any good soldier knows when they’re beaten. Now just gives us back the-”</p><p>It all happened too fast for Neon J to react, barely managing to hold his hands up as the swarm of bats began battering him in full charge. Even with his feet firmly planted, they were pushing him back, the sound of metal scraping against concrete ringing around the street. Before long, he was flung backwards, his body dragging along the ground as he came to a stop in front of his fellow associates. </p><p>Red, blue and green were on Neon in an instant, the three of them rushing to his side. “Dad!” Green cried. “Are you alright? That sounded painful.” It was followed by Red and Blue, who also expressed their concern for their manager’s safety. The cyborg groaned as he pushed himself up to his knees. After a quick look at his body, it mainly appeared to be just scratches and dents with a few wires broken here and there. Neon relieved them with, “I’m fine, men. Just a scratch.”</p><p>Neon’s words were dismissed by the three robots though. In an instant, they were standing in front of Neon, posing poster-style with an air of seriousness about them. Blue spoke for them, saying, “You mess with our boss, you mess with us!” </p><p>West stepped up to join them, followed by Mayday and Zuke – much to Eve’s protest. Mayday pulled her guitar out from behind her back, saying with determination, “We’re getting that tablet back one way or another. Even if we have to fight for it.” Everyone else nodded in agreement, all of them unified on what needed to happen.</p><p>It took Momo a while to respond, the girl having a blank look on her face. She appeared to think for a brief moment, but then quickly snapped back to a look of frustration, glaring at the artists. “If that’s really how you want to be, then fine. If you want a rap battle…” </p><p>The swarm of bats moved to make a line in front of her, like they were arranged in lanes headed straight for the artists. At first the creatures were hissing and shrieking, ever eager to go, but their voices quickly changed to sounds, bass from one, synth from another. It all collected together to make an eery and sinister instrumental with Momo’s voice layered over top. </p><p>“Then I’ll give you a rap battle!”</p><p>As the beat picked up, Momo reached for her head band. She pulled it from her head and pushed it together, the ends coming together to make a handle, and the bows collecting to make a microphone head. She was clearly in control of the situation, and even outnumbered she showed no sign of backing down, going into her first verse.</p><p>Modern-day rappers really must hate fun<br/>Just people rocking mics, music pieces, you’re done <br/>The real rapping connoisseurs are gonna rebel<br/>Not dealing with your rapping that doesn’t sell cus<br/>Flapping wings, killing things, toriaezu tenshi (banned for the time being)<br/>Nice try, you’re done; nothing’s gonna stop me<br/>Of human erasure, can't stop the pace, sir<br/>Make sure whеn "standing off" my rhymes slay first~<br/>Jealous haters out thеre, high-five! I see you~<br/>No one’s gonna buy your shit, I can tell you<br/>Cute as all hell, in a literal sense<br/>A bitter pretence<br/>But the views are all tell, no show, dollars and cents<br/>Those robots are cheap and your act ain’t on<br/>Bitch! You dare to challenge me, but you barely even dealt with<br/>Vedova and Glean - stupid, obscene<br/>Your found family bullshit doesn’t work on me <br/>Fuck that!</p><p>As she performed, the bats came swooping in at the artists with force, making them have to dodge and manoeuvre their way around the vicious attacks. The whole situation was giving Mayday and Zuke serious déjà vu, West included of course, yet their experience with West from before was helping them massively now with the three of them dodging the attacks with ease. Even still, the sheer number of bats made any idea of attack almost impossible. It didn’t help they were losing people on their side – DJ had managed to get back on his feet after being bombarded, but Team Sayu hadn’t faired as well, the teens choosing to evacuate back to where Yinu, White, and Yellow were hidden.</p><p>“I think I may have a plan!” Eve shouted over the music, a bat barely missing her head as it dove for her. Her cry was met with nods from the other artists, a signal that she could go ahead. Considering the scenario they were in, any idea was a good idea, and if Eve had one, they were more than willing to give it a try.</p><p>Eve made her way to the back of the group and ducked down, using the group as a guard for herself. She then took a deep breath in, then out, collecting all her strength together. The battle with Marinette had taken a lot out of her, and she had been carrying Zuke for a lot of the way home, but she knew that if she could just give her fellow artists even a bit of an advantage, that it would be well worth it.</p><p>The diva placed her hands on the ground, building herself up, before pushing down and towards Momo. In an instant, a pink hand rose in front of the other artists, acting as a blockade against the bats. She panted, “I cannot get all the way to her, but this should give you an advantage whilst I’m still able to keep it up. Do what you can now!” Eve was hissing in pain from both the strength she was using to make her hand appear and the feeling of the bats slamming into her hand as they tried to reach their target. Needless to say, the artists had to act soon.</p><p>The hand wasn’t close enough to be able to make contact with Momo, and without any bullets to fire, they were short on options. It was Red, Blue, and Green who were the ones to react first, using Eve’s hand as cover to get as close as they could. Once in position, the bots hyped themselves up. They were waiting for the right time to break into the song. After all, the best way to win a rap battle, would be to challenge the rapper in question for control of the battle. Once the bats had calmed down, the three of them stepped in, going in for a verse:</p><p>As the rappers of 1010, we got this<br/>Our bodies are perfect; we don’t know what work is<br/>1010 at your service<br/>When it comes to rapping, we’re the best in the biz<br/>You think you’re good? But how could you be?<br/>You’re an Amateur, but that’s honesty<br/>Just a small child with no experience <br/>No threat to our resistance!<br/>All you really gotta do now is give us the tablet<br/>What do you even wanna do with that?<br/>That helps us, and you get no benefits<br/>Give it back and that’s the end of it!</p><p>Momo appeared to falter from 1010’s comeback, having difficulty controlling her bats and her music. She was making messy beats, straining to think lyrics to parry back against the bots. She was losing the lead, and wasn’t very happy about it. </p><p>“I cannot keep it up much longer!” Eve told the others through ragged breaths. If the bots could feel panic or scared, they would be feeling that in waves right now. The fight was going to take more than one verse, but the question of whether they had the time to get out another was troubling. The moment they saw the hand twitching only worsened the experience. They didn’t have long, but they were out of ideas. Much to their disliking, Momo went into a verse – one directed right at them.</p><p>These tin cans giving me weak vibes<br/>Your rhymes are trash, but I’m not surprised<br/>A deadbeat boyband with a single genre<br/>You’ll sing, then you’ll rust; you’re god damn goners <br/>Even if I did Kpop, hell you’d lose it<br/>Sell outs with no skill, you’re useless!<br/>Grab a little auto-tune, then abuse it<br/>2-clicks "beep-boop"; that’s your music!!!</p><p>The second she finished her verse, a huge collection of bats dived straight for the bots, shrieks piecing through the music. Eve’s hand shielded them for a while, but their protection quick left them as they heard Eve give one final huff of exhaustion. In possibly the worst moment, Eve’s hand dropped back into the ground, making Red, Blue, and Green take the full force of the attack from Momo. The sounds of scraping and claws on metal erupted through the area, ringing like nails on a chalk board. The bots were virtually unseeable through the fog of bats, and it was only after the creatures parted that that the rest of the group saw the aftermath of the attack. Their bodies were covered in scratches with wires sticking out of limbs, and joints bent in strange ways. It was almost like something out of a horror scene. They could just be repaired of course, but nonetheless, it was a blow about the reality of the situation. </p><p>Neon was seething at the sight of his men down and out for the count. It was bad enough that it would be a while before he could properly repair them, but to see them trapped in No man’s land between his side and the enemy was heart wrenching. And then there was Eve, who was on her hands and knees heavy breathing. He was a man of strategy, seeing when it was best to let his fellow companions lead the fight. He was hurt as it was, and if he couldn’t get to his men, he would save who he could. “I’ll leave this to all of you.” He announced with a grunt, picking up Eve from the ground, her arm slung over his shoulder. “I wish you the best of luck!”. He received hums of acknowledgement from the group, signalling it was time to make his leave. That left Mayday, Zuke, DK West and Supernova left, each of them facing off against Momo.</p><p>DK gritted his teeth. “Man… I didn’t expect her to be so strong… I thought she was just a thief…”. He squared his shoulders in preparation for the next wave, pausing his words so he could focus on the advancing bats. Once it was calm again, Zuke responded to his brother, saying, “Strong or not, we have to beat her. We need the information on that tablet, one way or another.” He paused, contemplating the options they had. “Is there something more we can do?”</p><p>Zuke’s question was answered by West with a groan of anger, the rapper storming forward towards Momo. The bat girl saw him gaining on her, breaking the beat to quickly get back on the attack against him. Within seconds she had blasted out more bats at West, but the rapper was more than ready for it. West hit back against Momo with his own attacks, red angry bulls bursting from him and crashing into the bats. Before she could do anymore, West went into a verse himself, intent on taking out Momo once and for all.</p><p>M-O-M-O Koumori<br/>A brat, so selfish, not surprising <br/>You lied to my bro, and messed up my thing<br/>Stealing others work ain’t enough, don’t lie to me!<br/>Gonna take more than just rhymes to blast me<br/>Momo, come at me, you’re unrhythmic actually<br/>Top level rapper, yes, a multiplier! <br/>Come a little closer Ewah, THEN laugh at me!!</p><p>A rush of bulls charged at Momo, catching her completely off guard. In response, she assembled her bats in a defensive wall in front of her, but even with that the bulls took some of them out, rendering her music less powerful. She was fortunate enough to dodge some of them, with the rest just barely missing her and colliding into the wall behind. Even with the attack though, she was up and ready to go in no time, clapping back at West with a smug face and the verse:</p><p>boku wa kawaii ne, kodomono da yo (I’m so cute, I’m just a child)<br/>They fucking believed I was innocent bro<br/>Not what you expected? Better tell you straight-forward<br/>I gave them loads of hints, but they didn’t say a word<br/>This crappy rapper attacks me, but I don’t run<br/> ‘Cause I’m a rapper with the rhymes, kicking your shit – done!<br/>Top level? I’m up here having nothing but fun<br/>But this paddy field boy thinks he’s number one</p><p>As expected, Momo’s bats rushed West, knocking bull after bull out of the way so they could reach their target. West tried to get another verse out to counter Momo, but the onslaught of bats was so sudden and large that he couldn’t. The attacks collided with him, knocking the rapper off his feet and to the ground, his body disappearing below the swarm of bats. Even after DK West was knocked down though, the bats continued their violent course with them heading straight at the remaining members of the group. Zuke and Mayday were lucky enough to get out the way in time, what with all the previous experience they had with West, but DJ wasn’t as fortunate in the matter. Supernova went down too, knocked to the ground by a barrage of bats that clawed and bit at his face, ripping up his hoodie and short, and cracking his helmet. </p><p>Momo stopped. She was riddled with uncertainty after seeing what she had just done, watching both West AND Supernova fall on her opponent’s side. She had meant to take our West – probably the main problem in leading to her success – yet had managed to take out another opponent in the same run. She should be happy about that… right? That was two less people for her to battle. And yet… </p><p>West grumbled as he shifted himself to stand. He was hurt, his clothes shredded from sharp claws, but he was more than happy to jump back into the fight. He wasn’t going to let Momo take him down so easily – not like that anyway. He had learnt his lesson about being overly confident against her though and made a move to meet up with Zuke and Mayday again, the guitarist of which was taking with Supernova. He couldn’t do this alone. He had made up with his brother at the end of their last fight together, so why not work together now?</p><p>“What do we do, bro?” West asked as he reunited with the drummer, the two of them turning their attention back to Momo who had strangely stopped full-on attacking them for the moment, her gaze diverted to Supernova who was being ushered away to safety by Mayday. Zuke paused for a moment as he hummed in thought. They could keep countering her verses with their own, but with West already hurt and Zuke still recovering from his own injuries, they probably wouldn’t last too many more of those bat rushes. He looked to Supernova, who was grunting as Mayday helped him to the rest of the artists. Then looked back to Momo who, judging by the unsure face and wringing hands, seemed to be in thought herself. </p><p>“I think I’ve got something,” Zuke announced. “But you’ve gotta let me lead solo for the moment, got it?” </p><p>DK West seemed to be unsure about the suggestion, especially after his own failure, but nonetheless agreed. He motioned for Zuke to take the floor ahead of him which the drummer took without hesitation. West took a step back, saying, “Nasib baik, bro.” as he put a hand on Zuke’s shoulder for reassurance. They were just in time too as Momo appeared to be back in the moment again. She seemed different though – more hesitant than before. They couldn’t know what was going through her head, but whatever it was, it hit her hard – Just another bonus on their part.</p><p>As the music bought itself back up again, Zuke prepared himself to dodge whatever Momo was going to throw at him. The wave of bats that ensued was almost… sloppy. It was a challenge to dodge for sure, Zuke being forced to duck and swerve out the way of the stream of bats, yet it didn’t prove to be as much of a struggle as ones he had experienced before. The wave came and passed, the music winding out to an instrumental, and gave Zuke the time to break in with his own verse to counter Momo.</p><p>Momo, come on now, your better than this, you know?<br/>You were having so much fun with Yinu and me<br/>And you’re going to end it with “I hate you”? So low.<br/>Gotta know, Momo, can you say we meant nothing to you?<br/>I want the truth too<br/>I’m not asking for much, just help us to fight</p><p>His words made Momo pause again, similar to before. Zuke watched her cover her ears with her eyes closed, shaking her head as if to dismiss what he was saying. After a beat, Momo screamed in frustration, interjecting herself in Zuke’s verse with,</p><p>Jeez, could you please stop and just give up, all right?</p><p>She spoke in a flustered voice, like the words were hard to come up with. She was practically pulling her hair out. Her reaction assured Zuke that his assumption was correct, and that his plan was working much better than he initially expected. He had to keep at it though before Momo could get back fully into control. Without hesitation, he broke into a second verse.</p><p>Momo, listen up, this ain’t what you want<br/>you don’t have to fight lah<br/>We’re your friends, the defense, the heroes who trying to take Vinyl City for ya<br/>Here to make things right for all<br/>Luthor off the throne, the kings gonna fall<br/>Fight for what’s right, the ones who care for you, end this sick brawl<br/>Until we get what’s ours back again!</p><p>Momo gripped her mic tighter, her eyes averted from Zuke. She had stopped sending any bats at him at this point, only the music sounding out over the street. Her beats appeared to be more solemn and calmer after Zuke’s verse. He was doing something right obviously, to the point where Momo was covering her face now. It was when he heard the sound of soft sobbing that he knew his words had hit her. Her reactions from when DJ went down had told him what he needed to do to get this battle on his side. She wanted what Luthor had offered her, but after all she had been through… she didn’t want to hurt them. Or at least the ones who cared for her the most.</p><p>“I-I…” Momo sobbed out over the music. “I really want to meet her but…” She locked eyes with Zuke, before looking over at the injured artists hiding out behind him, Mayday attempting to stick a piece of fabric to Supernova’s helmet… which she had broken. </p><p>The bat girl fell to her knees, clutching the mic in her hands. She had people in front of her who had happily taken her in and offered her help to find her “mother”, who had sat down with her and talked about things, who had given her the opportunity to do something – and she was going to choose the artist who had ignored her for weeks without a word of reply over these people? With them… it almost felt like she had a home again.</p><p>DK West stepped up to meet Zuke, knowing it was time to finish this off once and for all. The brothers exchanged glances, each of them giving a nod to the other, before putting out their last verse – it was the end of the road for Momo, and their chance to get the tablet back.</p><p>Momo, listen up, this ain’t what you want<br/>You don’t have to fight lah<br/>We’re your friends, the defense, the heroes who trying to take Vinyl City for ya<br/>This battle is done finished off without ya<br/>You think you’re in control, but you’ve gone down under<br/>A bunka, A Junka, A shaka, A laka, A BAM!<br/>We’re gonna get what’s ours back again!</p><p>A beastly shadow shot out from the two brother and set its course directly for Momo. In no time, the shadow had taken out many of the bats surrounding her, with the rest leaving like a spooked flock of birds before it could get anywhere near. The bats that were hit seemingly evaporated into puffs of smoke, shrouding the area in a thick grey fog. Once it was cleared, the artists were greeted to a dishevelled looking Momo with her hair messy, her eyes puffy, and her nose running. She was still on her knees with eyes focused on the ground. </p><p>Zuke approached Momo with sincerity. He said nothing as he carefully sat down next to her, clutching his wound to dampen the pain a little. He watched Momo shuffle to sit down on the ground, the girl clutching her legs against her chest. The two of them sat side by side for a while, before it was Momo who surprisingly spoke up to break the silence.</p><p>“I’m sorry…” She murmured out, her legs covering her mouth. “I think… I just wanted someone like mommy to look after me… then when I saw AKIKO, I was reminded of her…”</p><p>Zuke looked off into the distance as she spoke, watching the 1010 bots desperately trying to shove wires back into each other. “What happened?” Zuke asked her, his voice calm. “To your Mom, I mean.”</p><p>He heard Momo choke up at the question making him think maybe that was too far, but she replied eventually with a sigh. “Nothing happened to her she just… didn’t want me anymore…” She moved a piece of hair out of her face. “And then you and your friends found me, and I told my lie and… you were so nice to me. You didn’t know I was lying but… you were still super generous and kind. I-” She wiped her face with her sleeve as little tears trickled down her cheeks. “I’ve never felt like I had something like a family before…”</p><p>Zuke wasn’t really sure what to say. He didn’t know if he could consider the NSR artists his family for starters, but he guessed that when you didn’t really know what family was, the hustle and collectiveness of himself and all the other artists was something like that. They weren’t necessarily family, but after being put in the situation they were in by Luthor, they were more than just artists working in the same City. </p><p>“Hey, listen,” Zuke said, finally getting his thoughts out. “None of us are parents or anything – I wouldn’t even consider at least half of us adults – but if you need somewhere to stay, permanent or not, you’ve got plenty of us you can come to.” He placed his hand on her head. “And who knows? You’ve clearly got talent – And not just stealing other peoples work either. Maybe once this is all over, you can work something out with NSR.”</p><p>Momo’s eyes lit up as she looked to Zuke. “You… really think so?” </p><p>“Of course!” Zuke leant into Momo and whispered, “If you can beat West over there in a Verse v Verse rap battle freestyling, I think you can do anything.”</p><p>Her face beamed in response to Zuke’s words, any doubt in herself gone in no time. The artist would take some time to warm up to her after the whole betrayal thing, but she appeared to have good intentions, and if she knew more information about AKIKO that would give them an upper hand in the next district, she was more than helpful to them all. </p><p>Momo wiped her nose with her sleeve again, before turning to pick up the tablet and handing it to Zuke. “I’m sorry I took this. I’m not going to give it to Luthor anymore or have any involvement with him. I don’t know what he’s doing but…” She paused, frowning. “He’s really scary, and I think that’s enough reason not to trust him. Even if he promised to let me see AKIKO.”</p><p>Zuke laughed a little at the comment as he took the tablet from her. “Thanks.” He smiled at her, earning a heart-warming smile back from the girl. After a beat, he stood up, offering a hand to Momo. “Let’s head back to the sewer. We’ve got people who need medical help, and you need to apologise for everything, especially to DK West after the career stuff you’ve done.” </p><p>Momo took his hand and got to her feet, the two of them setting off to join the rest of the group so they could head back. He was glad it was over, and more than happy to spend a little longer with his brother before he headed out again. The battle was just another look at the lengths Luthor would go to get what he wanted – whatever that may be. At least now with Momo on their side they didn’t have anything to worry about in terms of treachery, and with the tablet in their hands once again, they could finally get more information into Estallia’s plan – the shortage of electricity, the importance of Vinyl City, and the true purpose behind Estallia’s actions. </p><p>As everyone gathered to head back to the sewer with artist helping artist and many giving Momo the side eye, Zuke checked the tablet. The least he could do was get the folder open ready. They didn’t have any time to waste; they were already on the last district they had to deal with, not to mention had a fair amount of information as to who the district owner was. They would sort each other’s injuries out, then get to checking the R.UN.A file for anything that could give them the upper hand. Reassured of his plan, Zuke pressed the power button to turn the screen back on.</p><p>It was only after a while that he realised that the tablet wasn’t even booting up.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Momo's music was inspired (and was also a parody of) the Vtuber Calliope Mori! The two songs I used for lyrics were:<br/>Calliope Mori - 'DEADBEATS'<br/>Calliope Mori - 'Excuse me, but could you please die?'<br/>Massively recommended checking her out. As someone who loves rap music, it was a blessing to have another Vtuber coming out with music.</p><p>Shameless plug I guess, but I have a Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/renedekobora<br/>I've been using stickers recently to reward myself for doing literally anything to help motivate myself. Totally optional if you wanna donate.</p><p>Again, sorry for changing of the upload schedule, but I'm gonna try my best to get things out.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. A brief path towards the final tunnel</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So past Rene was a fool in saying every two weeks... It's been over a month. Oop.<br/>I thought a short little chapter to get people back into it would be a good idea. That and it felt wrong to go right into a battle after the last chapter.<br/>It's the shortest chapter so far, but I've only just gotten back into writing. It's been hard to do, and with stupid amounts of side projects and studying, it's taken some time.<br/>Anyway, Enjoy this short little chapter! <br/>And Please please tell me what you thought! Any comments are massive for me and help me so much with motivation!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been at least a month since the reveal of Momo as the traitor in the group of artists. Despite the apology from the bat girl and the return of the tablet, the group were still just as tense as before, with the underlining stress of both the unfortunate breaking of the tablet, and Zuke’s own injuries from their encounter with Marinette. That wasn’t even mentioning the fact that the situation outside had seemed to get significantly worse. From frequent power cuts in their own sewer hideout, to reports from Lola and Peet of complete shutdowns of power in several of the districts they had already reclaimed. Even if there were some positives in the time off like Zuke recovering successfully, it certainly didn’t seem like a true positive to them all considering everything that was going on. Even if they took one step forward, it was always two steps back, and without the tablet to understand what on earth Luthor had planned, things were looking dim for the group of artists. They had to get to Luthor as soon as possible.</p><p>Mayday approached Team Sayu, her guitar set on her back and ready for their next trip out. The Otaku teens had been working on getting the tablet back as quick as possible, but no matter what they seemed to do, they couldn’t get it to turn on again. They were currently trying to – at the very least – extract the data from the tablet onto a laptop that they had grabbed from their own district, but judging by their low faces and heavy sighs, they weren’t getting anything anytime soon.</p><p>The B2J guitarist smiled earnestly at the teens, kneeling to get to their level on the floor. “Hey guys, how’s it going? You gotten anything yet?”</p><p>Remi was the one to speak up, looking at Mayday with sunken and tired eyes. “I wish we had something.” He shuffled some papers that were scattered in front of him covered with written code. Restart codes perhaps? Needless to say, Mayday didn’t understand much of it, letting Remi continue. “We have the means of turning the tablet back on, in fact we’re absolutely certain we can get it back to life. And yet…” He paused, frowning. “It seems we’re being stopped getting back in somehow. Like someone’s put a firewall over us even getting on.”</p><p>Mayday nodded in response to what they were saying. “So…” She began with hesitation. “Do we know what’s stopping it? If we can stop the thing that’s stopping us, then we can get back on, right?”</p><p>Tila hummed in agreement. “Basically yeah. We don’t know what’s stopping it though, or at least without specifics.” She motioned to Neon J nearby who was busy repairing that last of his soldiers ready for their trip out to Metro Division to finally claim back the last of the districts. “We’ve talked with Mr J about using 1010 as a sort of persona. If we can input one of them into the tablet, we can access it from the inside.” She frowned for a second, pushing back sniffles before murmuring, “If we had Sayu back…”</p><p>Mayday’s heart sank. With the tablet busted again, they had lost Sayu for a second time. It must terrible for them – it had felt like such a small time that the Otakus were all together, Sayu included. Whatever Luthor was doing to it, they had to stop it. She couldn’t bare to see the four of them hurt again. She forced a smile on her face, placing a hand on Tila’s shoulder. “We’ll get her back, don’t worry. Hey, maybe there’s even something in Metro that can help.”</p><p>A small smile grazed Tila’s lips from the comment, but it was still pretty apparent that she and the rest of them weren’t feeling too great. And to be fair, now that Mayday looked at everyone in the room, no one was exactly happy. They had all started this journey with high hopes and spirits and it certainly wasn’t anything like that now. People were hurt, morale was low, and everything that they had worked hard for – to get through this nightmare of a time – seemed almost hopeless in the end of it. </p><p>No, she told herself. She couldn’t start to think like that. Look at everything they had done so far: They were one district left until they were at NSR tower, they had more allies who had experience with their enemy and were more than happy to help, and while they didn’t have it now, they had acquired all the information of whatever Luthor was doing. They should be proud of how far they had gotten despite everything being against them. Now wasn’t the time to stop – Now was the time to advance against Estallia more than ever.</p><p>“Ready to head out Zuke?” Mayday asked as she got to her feet again, turning to look at Zuke on the couch. He was doing surprisingly well despite the whole… stabbing incident. He had recovered quicker than expected, and while she was mostly against him going out with them, she didn’t feel the need to start another argument with him again. They still had some tension between the two of them, but they were on friendly talking terms at least. They really need to sort out their recent disputes; at the very least tell each other about their differences. They could sort that out afterwards though – more important things to do and all.</p><p>Zuke gently shrugged off Eve, who was checking his bandages and making sure that he was absolutely fine. “Yeah May, should be good to go.” He softly poked his wounded area that had nothing but a small, slightly messy scar as of now. “It doesn’t hurt too bad. Provided I don’t get stabbed again, I should be alright.” </p><p>“That’s nice to hear.” Mayday assured.</p><p>“What about you?” Zuke asked, pointing to Mayday’s stomach.</p><p>“Oh!” Mayday responded, looking sheepish. “You know, the bruise is fine and all. Not even feeling it anymore.”</p><p>Zuke frowned. “The pain isn’t my issue, May.” He walked up to her and moved the strap of her shirt out the way slightly, revealing a shoulder that was almost entirely a deep purple. It had grown again, to the point it was heading down Mayday’s arm now. If it didn’t seem suspicious then, they were certain it was something that needed their attention now. “We need to see how bad it is when we come back, okay?” In response, Mayday hmphed, but agreed nonetheless.</p><p>“Ready and in order, Sir!” </p><p>The duo looked over to see Blue up and working again with the other bots quickly joining their final friend to be repaired in a firm salute. Green, Red, and Blue weren’t as sturdy as they could be due to the little materials they had to repair them. Even with raiding Supernova’s backrooms, they still had obvious cracks and unstable parts. Not much they could do about that though; all the more reason they had to get Metro Division back in their hands. Having the military district back up and running was going to be a massive advantage for them.</p><p>“Now then men,” Neon J spoke, his voice booming and commanding as he prowled back and forth in front of the boys. “We’re about to head into dangerous enemy territory, possibly the worst we’ve faced so far.” 1010’s faces seemed to twitch to something resembling fear as Neon told his speech – not that the manager noticed. “We know a name – AKIKO – yet know very little else as to what her purpose and power status is. We approach with caution, but be prepared for any unexpected attacks from her.” He stopped and tightened his cape, his monitor unwavering. “Considering the recent surprise attack…” He gave a quick glance at Momo in the corner, who was talking with Supernova. “We expect that some of you may not make it through all of the battle, but know this-” He stood tall in front of his men, giving them all a proud salute. “I’m proud of you all, soldiers.” </p><p>It made the bots jerk at little, unexpecting of this respect from their boss. They couldn’t help but think he was overreacting a little though; they could just be repaired in the end after all. Still, they understood their bosses reaction for the most part, and boldly shouted back a rhythmic “♪Sirrrr!♪”</p><p>With a speech done, Neon J turned on his heels to face Mayday and Zuke, 1010 ready and eager to follow their boss into No Mans Land. “Are the both of you ready for this? We’re unsure of enemy tactics, and many of our approaching army are injured in some way.”</p><p>Zuke sighed. “We’re good enough to fight.” He looked towards the lights of the hideout that were flickering every so often. “We don’t know how much time we have left before their master plan happens. We can’t sit around.”</p><p>“Understood.” Neon agreed. “We’ll have to play a more defensive style to assist out current health status, but I entrust that the two of you know what you’re doing.”</p><p>“We’re more than qualified for taking over districts!” declared Mayday with a grin. “Well, no time to waste – shall we?” She started to make her way over to the sewers’ ladder, Zuke promptly following behind with Neon J and 1010 at the back. Mayday had only managed to place a hand on the ladder when a question was popped their way:</p><p>“Oi lah.” DK West called. He had stayed in the hideout whilst he and Zuke had recovered, making sure his brother was alright. He had wanted to head out to the other cities, to provide some assistance to the people who were caught up in Estallia’s plan. Zuke frankly wasn’t sure it was safe for him to go out considering everything West had said himself, but the rapper was determined to go out at some point, just not right now. “Are you really goin’ to leave us all wit her?” He asked. He was directing a hand at Momo, the bat girl of which not doing anything of threatening note.</p><p>Zuke scratched the back of his head. “Bro, I don’t think Momo is going to start attacking everyone again.”</p><p>“You’re just gonna trust her like dat? She says sorry and dat’s it?” West grumbled, arms folded.</p><p>DJ Subatomic Supernova stood from his place next to Momo at the question, placing a hand on the young girls head. “I understand that you may have some discourse with Momo, DK West.” Supernova said, his voice calm and calculated. “Yet you may rest assure that she is not going to cause us harm anytime soon. At least,” He rubbed Momo’s hair, a small giggle escaping the bat girl’s mouth. “Not on my careful watch.”</p><p>West seemed unsure, but shrugged at the notion, signalling to Zuke and Mayday that everything would be alright while they were gone… hopefully. As long as they came back to their home in one piece, they would be happy anyway.</p><p>“Good luck!” Mother called from across the room, Yinu sat on her lap taking a nap. “I hope that the hijacking is as smooth as needs be.”</p><p>Neon J seemed to perk up a little from her words, before saluting and giving Mother a blushed smile of sorts. “Rest assured we shall come back to live another day.” He looked to Yinu. “And… give my regards to Yinu when she wakes up. I do not want her to worry.”</p><p>Mother nodded to Neon, a soft smile on her lips. Yinu would get to have another playdate with Neon and 1010 once this was all over, that Neon J could absolutely promise. The pianist deserved some time for fun after this fiasco. </p><p>With pleasantries exchanged between them all, they group set off for Metro District, heading up the ladder and onwards to their mission: Retrieve back Metro District from Estallia’s clutches.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Song for this week is from a game! It's from Rhythm Doctor, song called "All The Times". It's an amazing song and an Amazing game! Please check it out!<br/>Also, Mini shout out to Madame Merluvli, Oren Rune, and teabuses! Things you've said and done about my writing has been super helpful to get me back into it. Thank you!<br/>Still no set schedule since I have other big writing projects, but I shall persist with this fic!</p>
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<a name="section0024"><h2>24. vs. AKIKO (Part 1)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Another smallish one. BUT! Lots of juicy stuff to think about, and gives me time to figure out how to write what I want to.<br/>Sorry they have been small btw. I've been working on other big, non-fanfic things, and motivation just doesn't exist sometimes.<br/>Enjoy! And please tell me what you thought in the comments!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Metro Division was like a ghost town. The smashed screens and wrecked electronics seemed all that more unsettling now then the last time Zuke and Mayday had passed through, and the uncomfortable sound of the plastic and glass crunching under their feet as they made their way towards Barraca Mansion just made it all the worse. What once was a prosperous district filled with technological advancements and monuments displays was rendered to a worthless wasteland that resembled nothing like what it once was. This wasn’t Metro Division anymore – It was what Estallia had turned it into. </p><p>Neon J clenched his fists. “My district… turned to rubble by the enemy…” He took a moment to compose himself, the sound of a deep breath out coming from his monitor. Afterwards, he turned to 1010 who had been flanking his position. He seemed to speak with confidence, yet his unsteady voice suggested otherwise. “Be on the lookout for anything suspicious men. If you see movement, do not hesitate to fire.”</p><p>“Sir!” The boys saluted, moving into a tactical formation around Neon J as they advanced further in. </p><p>Mayday and Zuke were at the back of the group. They were unsure of how to really help with the military-like stance that Neon J and 1010 were approaching in, so saw it best to let them do their thing. Still though… What had happened to Metro? This was probably the worst district they had seen by far, and that was even with the state Dream Fever had been in. Luthor clearly hadn’t moved this district back so they could clean up after themselves.</p><p>“It’s crazy to think that this place was boy group central at one point.” Zuke said as they walked past a smashed in wall painting of 1010. “You couldn’t even tell it was bright neon at one point.”</p><p>May picked up a piece of what once was a neon tree, turning it over in her hands. “But what would AKIKO even get out of destroying the place?”</p><p>Zuke shrugged. “I can imagine the military parts of Metro would be attractive to Luthor, but he isn’t going to get anything from the district. That’ll be more from the harbour near the tower.”</p><p>The duo fell into silence as they thought about an answer, letting the boys guide them towards the mansion where they expected AKIKO to be.</p><p>AKIKO. They didn’t have much about her at all. Momo had told them a little bit after their battle – a rapper, a singer, and a dancer. Lola and Peet had only told them similar ideas. She was clearly important enough to move Dream Fever in front of her, delaying them from getting here. Perhaps she was part of Luthor’s big plan somehow? Either way, considering the damage that was already done, it was apparent this fight wasn’t going to be easy. They had to give it their all.</p><p>It wasn’t long before they had reached the mansion. It too hadn’t avoided being damaged with its windows smashed in and any resemblance of 1010 owning it stripped off and destroyed. Even in front of the building the destruction was apparent with the gates pulled down into a mangled pile at the head of the house and the drive way torn up and wrecked.</p><p>Neon huffed, his body stiff as he stared at Barraca Mansion with his hands behind his back. “Keep your eyes and ears peeled, men. We’re entering the taken territory.” He peered over to Bunkbed Junction, commanding sternly, “Be on your guard.”, before making his way in. Both 1010 and the rock duo gave him a hum of alignment as they all readied their instruments and weaponry – 1010 engaging their lasers, and Zuke and Mayday bringing their instruments to the ready. Without another word, they proceeded through the cracked double doors of the manor.</p><p>-------------------------------------</p><p> “Jeez, this place is giving me the chills.” Mayday stated. “Since when did this become a horror movie?”</p><p>The mansion was seemingly in picture black darkness with a thick almost fog-like smoke covering their vision. They still could see each other, but any distance would seemingly erase the person for their very world, the person fading into the grey atmosphere. The interior of the mansion wasn’t any better than the outside with every step being punctuated by the sound of a sharp crunch as they walked over glass and metal shards. The atmosphere was just uncomfortable to be in for them all. It was getting to the point that the group were expecting a monster to jump out suddenly to scare them, like some house of jumpscares or something. Spooky.</p><p>White stopped in his tracks, remarking with concern, “Do you hear that?”</p><p>The rest paused too, opening up their ears to the area around them. They listened and listened, trying to discern whatever White had heard from his position up front. Maybe he could hear AKIKO’s music? Or perhaps footsteps? We’re they being attacked?”</p><p>But… there was nothing. Not a sound. Not even music.</p><p>“I can’t hear anything.” Yellow spoke softly in response to White.</p><p>“Exactly.” White deadpanned. “For someone who is an artist, it’s too quiet.”</p><p>Red scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Well, waiting here and stating it’s silent isn’t going to solve our problem. Get going, White.”</p><p>Despite his rudeness, Red was telling the truth: They could just listen to that deathly silence, or they could figure out why there was silence.  Hesitation wasn’t going to get Metro back, action was.</p><p>They were fortunate that the main foyer of the mansion led directly to the main living quarters where they anticipated AKIKO would be. It was the largest room in the establishment and had access to all areas of the grounds from the garden to the bedrooms to the dance halls. It also meant they had lots of areas to escape should they need it. Even if AKIKO had been here for the past couple of months, Neon and the boys had been living there for years, shaping it into the formidable and strategic room they knew it to be. AKIKO might be stronger, put they had home advantage.</p><p>They had reached the entrance to that very room now, the large ceiling-reaching doors acting as their final barrier before they would enter the fray. The group assembled by it in formation with 1010 pushed up against it and ready to barge down the door at Neon’s command, and Mayday and Zuke acting as the flanking group and the main route of attack. Their plan was for 1010 to act as the fake advancement, before B2J would come in to be the true offensive attack of the group. It wasn’t really May and Zuke’s style to plan their hijacking out so much, but they had agreed to the tactic back at the sewer hideout. Considering how bad the Estallia artists had been recently, any strategy was worth a shot.</p><p>“Ready?” Neon J asked.</p><p>They all nodded in response, a silent agreement to finally finish this. </p><p>With a whispered countdown from Neon reaching its climatical 1, 1010 kicked down the door and rushed in, promptly followed by Mayday and Zuke. The fight was on now, no backing down.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>Only there wasn’t any kind of fight. Or an ambush. Or any hostility at all, if they were honest.</p><p>As the group ran into the room with weapons and instruments at the ready, their determination and urge quickly faded to confusion. They had expected to bear witness to AKIKO’s hostility as they entered – the singer possibly readying attacks herself, or having even a small resemblance to a boss-like figure – but instead what they were given was a woman sat hunched over a computer, her hair a mess and bags under her eyes. She was clearly the AKIKO Mayday and Zuke had seen when they first had gone to confront Luthor – Leather crop top and shorts, pale white skin, Black hair, thick-soled boots – yet she just looked a bit… </p><p>AKIKO glanced over to the intruders, looking surprised for a second before she hummed in thought. “Huh, I didn’t expect you to be here so early. When did you beat Momo?”</p><p>Mayday blanched at the question, replying, “Umm… a couple of weeks ago? That Chapter was released in January. I’m surprised we took this long to get here.”</p><p>The Estallia singer sighed, rubbing her eyes. “Yikes, I have not been keeping track of things as much as I should be.” She ran her fingers through her hair, before proceeding to stand up from her chair and stretch her body out. “Sorry, you were probably expecting a bit more from me when you burst in.”</p><p>The NSR group exchanged glances as they watched AKIKO move to the make-shift throne in the back centre of the room, proceeding to collapse herself onto it. She sat with crossed legs, leaning on her elbow as she stared at the group of artists. “So,” She said, getting straight to the point, “What did you think of the file I sent you?”</p><p>Neon stepped forward, his monitor glitching from shock. “You sent that file?” His astonishment swiftly faded to anger, the manager stating, “I take it you’re also the one to lock the tablet we had that very information on then?”</p><p>It was AKIKO’s turn to be surprised, the girl raising an eyebrow. “Lock the- I haven’t done anything like that.” She paused for a moment. “Wait wait – Have you not seen the file then? Have you not read up on project Tranquillity?” In response, the NSR artists shook their heads and shrugged, earning a groan from AKIKO who finished with, “Great… Dar must have gotten one of his recruits on it. That explains why I’ve lost some stuff too. Oh well… can’t be helped.”</p><p>Zuke stepped forward, asking, “But why help us? If you did send that file, why go to the trouble of risking your place at Estallia?” </p><p>AKIKO laughed. “Risking my place… Jeez, I wish I could quit like that; Make my life a lot simpler.” She started to comb out her hair with her fingers. “But no, I have nothing to worry about. There’s nothing Luthor can do to hurt me more than he already has, and he can’t really ever get rid of me for his own sanity. As for helping you,” She smirked at them, a sly grin on her lips. “Who’s to say I really helped you? For all you know I could be worse than Luthor – Maybe I’m the real mastermind behind this whole fiasco. Heck, everything I sent you could be absolute lies. How are you to know my true intentions?”</p><p>The group paused. That was true… Help or not, she was still an Estallia artist, and a higher ranking one at that. Even if LP, Momo, and Vedova had sided with them, who was to say that AKIKO would as well? If she had been able to get into the tablet to input the R.UN.A file, that would only say more about her abilities than her alliance. She was still the enemy, at least as of right now.</p><p>“Hold up,” Zuke said, “But what was with that photo? Is that linked to Project Tranquillity somehow? It was Luthor in the picture, but what about the others there?” He looked to AKIKO sternly. “What do you know about Luthor that even the other Estallia artists don’t seem to know?”</p><p>AKIKO chuckled, shifting to lean on her elbow once more. “Tell me artists,” She began. “What would you do if you were put into a battle without your instruments? Or, I guess, battle without music to assist you?” She motioned to them all one by one, saying, “Say you lose your guitar, your drums, your voices, etc – What would you do?”</p><p>Another pause from the artists. They hadn’t expected to be asked questions themselves when they came here, yet it seemed like they were being interrogated by the Estallia artist who so sinisterly sat on the throne looking at the intruders into her domain. </p><p>Mayday scoffed. “Why would we ever be without our instruments?” She gripped the neck of her guitar harder, sensing hostility in AKIKO’s words. “Our music is a part of us, just like you and any other artist that performs in this world. They’re not something that can just be taken away.”</p><p>“Agreed.” Neon J said, siding with Mayday. “Coming from an old veteran, music exists for everyone to be able to express themselves and their abilities. Even if the physical manifestations and power outlets of that expression is taken away, we shall always find a way to fight back.” She glared at the Estallia artist. “Especially against tyranny such as the company you work for.”</p><p>They watched as AKIKO shrugged, a thoughtful expression on her face. “A good answer to an otherwise strange question.” She stated. After a beat, she stood from her throne and stepped closer to the artists, standing with an air of boldness and confidence. “I suppose you’ll be wanting your district back now, won’t you?”</p><p>1010 were taken back by her words, White speaking for them. “Does… Does that mean you’ll give it back to us?”</p><p>AKIKO burst out laughing, wiping little tears from her eyes. “Of course not, I have a reputation to uphold. Besides,” She flicked her hair out of her face. “If you can’t get this place back properly, you’ll never be able to beat Luthor. Heck, you’ll never beat able to get your boss back considering she’s locked in Dar’s prison thingy. If you can’t beat me, you won’t stand a chance against my higher ups, and frankly you might as well say goodbye to Vinyl City.”</p><p>Get your boss back? Did that mean…</p><p>“You know where Tatiana is?” Neon exclaimed, urgency behind his voice.</p><p>“I don’t know specifics,” AKIKO replied, “But I do know where she’s being kept. And how Luthor is keeping her under control. Can’t have the head of your enemy running off anywhere after all,” She chuckled to herself, murmuring under her breathe, “Although getting off of there would be impressive in itself…”</p><p>Neon J frowned, pointing an accusatory finger at AKIKO. “This is ludicrous. You give us secrets from your commander, potentially giving us the upper hand in this fight, yet spew traitorous words against us. If you are not with us,” The manager stood alert, raising his hand to ready the artists for an inevitable attack. “Then you are against us. It is our duty as the protectors of Vinyl City to ensure peace in this fair city, and if you are choosing to not relinquish control over Metro Division – My own District – then we will engage. Enough of your cryptid messages and hints.”</p><p>The group watched as the Estallia artist sighed, running her hands through her hair. “It’s a shame, Neon. I actually quite enjoy your team’s music.” She sauntered back over to the throne, taking a seat once again, a smirk emblazoned on her face. “But if you really don’t want to just chat for a while…”</p><p>AKIKO pushed a button on her throne, and within seconds, 1010, Neon J, and Bunkbed Junction were all falling through a trap door, their screams ringing out as they plummeted into the darkness. </p><p>The singer smiled. </p><p>“Then I guess the fight for Metro Division is on.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>No song today, since they're being reserved for the other AKIKO chapters.<br/>Next chapter should be much bigger. Hopefully.</p><p>I wanna thank you for sticking with this fic. It's been a long running one, and I know people have lost interest with NSR, but I also know there are people that still love it. I think it's been pretty obvious as this fic has gone on how my mood has changed, but even if I can't do a lot of other things with my life, the one thing I want to do is finish this fic. And I will.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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